


Ghosts of Christmas Past

by dS_Tiff



Category: due South
Genre: Christmas, Drama, Friendship, Gen, Humour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-20
Updated: 2011-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-27 15:15:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/297217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dS_Tiff/pseuds/dS_Tiff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christmas finds Fraser and RayV on the hunt for a murderer and the case forces RayV to deal with a difficult incident from his past. A young woman badly needs their help too, but they still find time for some traditional Christmas celebrations and fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghosts of Christmas Past

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set at Christmas, which I have placed somewhere in the middle of Season 2 of due South. I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas!

GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST

“Are you absolutely sure you want to do this Benny?” Detective Ray Vecchio was freezing as he walked along with his best friend Constable Benton Fraser of the RCMP.

“Of course Ray,” replied Fraser.

“So you didn't just agree to it to shut my sister up?” Ray queried.

“Not in the least,” replied Fraser, “I haven't been able to attend choir practice as often as I'd have liked to recently as we always seem to be involved in one thing or another on Wednesday evenings, but Francesca told me that Susan Murphy has written this particular piece with male and female solo leads and she has asked me to return so that we can perform it at Christmas. The choir is predominately women Ray, I feel honoured to have been asked.”

“Yeah, Father Behan is very grateful to you for boosting the numbers in the choir,” grinned Ray. Fraser shot him a puzzled look as they walked up the steps and into the church. Ray immediately went to stand by the heater, wrapping his arms around himself as he tried to get warm.

“Hi Frase!” Francesca came running over to them. Evidently she wasn't feeling the cold as much as her brother, Fraser observed, judging by her choice of outfit. He himself was dressed casually in jeans, a blue shirt over a white t-shirt and his favourite brown leather jacket. Of course he was wearing his Mountie hat too, he always felt uncomfortable without it, even when he was off duty.

“Good evening Francesca,” Fraser smiled at her, nervously.

Francesca was about to reply when she spotted her brother. “Oh, what did you have to bring him for?” she asked Fraser, looking very disappointed.

“We have a case to discuss,” explained Fraser, “Ray and I intend to eat together after this practice and go over the evidence.”

“I see,” replied Francesca, then she lowered her voice slightly and added, “he's not going to sing, is he?”

“I don't believe so,” replied Fraser. He couldn't particularly recall a time when he'd ever heard Ray singing, although he did have a vague recollection of a shared musical interlude taking place when he and Ray had been lost in the Canadian woodland after a plane crash. However, Fraser had suffered a head injury in the crash and he wasn't sure if he was remembering the events correctly at all. He made a mental note to ask Ray about it later.

“Good,” Francesca smiled again and grabbed hold of Fraser's arm. “You remember Susan don't you?”

“Of course,” nodded Fraser, looking back over his shoulder at Ray with a slightly terrified look as the younger Vecchio sibling pawed at his arm. Ray just shook his head in despair. He'd learnt by now that there was no arguing with Francesca when it came to his best friend and he was more comfortable with the situation now than he had been a year or so ago.

“Benton, it's so good to see you,” Susan Murphy, the choir leader, was a slightly overweight woman in her late fifties and she smiled a broad smile and shook Fraser by the hand, “it's been far too long,” she added.

“I'm so terribly sorry,” replied Fraser, humbly, “I'm afraid my duties as RCMP Liaison Officer have prevented me from attending in recent weeks. I intend to rectify that.”

“That's alright, I understand,” replied Susan, smiling, “I love reading all about your exploits in the local newspaper,” she added with a wink.

Fraser looked confused. “My exploits?” he queried and Susan just laughed.

“Did Francesca give you the music?” Susan asked him as she led them over to the piano.

“Yes,” replied Fraser, pulling the neatly folded papers from his jacket pocket. “I must say, it is a beautiful melody,” Fraser continued, “you are an excellent composer.”

Susan blushed. “Stop it,” she replied, laughing coyly, “I just thought it would be nice for us to perform something original this Christmas, I'm sure the congregation gets bored of the same old Christmas carols year after year,” she laughed again.

“Who will be singing the female solo part?” Fraser enquired.

“Ah,” Susan's shoulders slumped, “well, I had hoped that Vanessa would be singing it with you, but unfortunately, her mother has been taken ill and she's had to go to Arkansas to take care of her.

“Oh dear,” said Fraser in a concerned voice, “nothing serious I hope?”

“I don't think so,” replied Susan, “but it has left me with a problem. I thought the only fair thing would be to hold open auditions. I did put a poster up outside earlier in the week, so if anyone from outside the choir is interested they would be most welcome. We love to have new members.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” agreed Fraser.

“Could we spend a few minutes going through your part?” Susan asked, “I want anyone who is auditioning to sing with you this evening so I can hear how your voices blend.”

“Of course,” smiled Fraser and Susan took her seat at the piano. Francesca and Ray listened as Fraser's voice filled the church. Francesca really wanted to try out for the solo part as the opportunity to sing with Fraser would have been wonderful, but she felt that her voice just wasn't strong enough and she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of the Mountie. She'd only joined the choir in the first place for a chance to spend more time with him anyway, although she had since discovered how much she loved singing and how much being part of the choir meant to her, whether Fraser was there or not. She had actually made some very good friends amongst the other members and now she really looked forward to Wednesday evenings.

The other members of the choir started to arrive and Ray was surprised at the huge turnout. Susan explained about their current predicament and after running through a few familiar songs to get their voices warmed up, she started the audition process. Ray laughed as one of the women got completely distracted by Fraser and kept losing her place in the music. Another really couldn't sing at all, but clearly just wanted the opportunity to sing with Fraser. That was just what Francesca needed to give her the confidence boost to audition herself and she stepped forward, standing unnaturally close to Fraser they sang together as Susan played the piano. When she'd finished, Francesca knew that her initial thoughts about her voice had been correct, although so had her thoughts about how wonderful it would be to sing with Fraser. She smiled up at him. “That was very good Francesca,” he said graciously.

Francesca knew he was just being polite, as he'd said much the same thing to Liz and she had been completely off key all the way through, but she didn't care. Fraser had said her singing was very good and she would remember that for a very long time. “Thanks Frase,” she said, squeezing his hand before returning to her seat. Ray sighed. This audition process was beginning to descend into a farce and he may not have had the greatest ear for music, but as far as he could tell, not one of the candidates for the female solo lead had been any good.

Susan left the rest of the choir to practice some traditional Christmas carols and led Fraser to the side of the room to discuss the auditions. “I think some of them were a little nervous,” suggested Fraser, politely.

Susan smiled ruefully “I am a little disappointed,” she admitted. “Caroline Baxter was good, but I think the part is too high for her, she's more of an alto.”

“Agreed,” nodded Fraser, “Anna Maria has a beautiful voice too,” he suggested.

Susan thought for a moment. “It doesn't compliment yours though does it, the balance is all wrong.” She sighed.

Just then the church door slowly opened and a young woman stepped inside. She was dressed in rather tatty clothes and she had a bandage around her left hand. “Um, excuse me,” she began, nervously, “am I too late for the auditions?”

Susan leapt up, beaming. “Not at all dear,” she smiled, “come in, come in. I'm Susan, what's your name?”

“Jennifer,” replied the woman, quietly.

“Hello Jennifer, welcome to our choir,” said Susan, leading her over to the piano. “Have you sung before?”

“Um, yes,” replied Jennifer, “at school, I was in the choir at school.”

“I see,” replied Susan, glancing hopefully at Fraser who had joined them at the piano. “Do you read music?” Susan asked the shy young woman and Jennifer nodded. “Excellent!” exclaimed Susan, handing her a copy of the solo part to her Christmas composition. “This is Benton Fraser, he'll be singing the male lead.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Fraser and offered his hand to Jennifer, who shook it rather weakly. Fraser noticed the rather dirty bandage on her other hand. “Oh dear,” he said, “what happened?”

“Oh, it's nothing,” dismissed Jennifer. Fraser wasn't at all convinced that it was nothing and he was more than a little concerned about the filthy dressing, but he didn't feel it was an appropriate moment to discuss it further.

Susan began to play and Fraser and Jennifer sang. Almost immediately, everyone fell silent and listened, even Ray. Fraser had trouble concentrating on his part as Jennifer had the most beautiful and pure singing voice he had ever heard. Susan couldn't help smiling. She'd heard enough after the first verse, but she couldn't bring herself to stop them so she carried on playing and Fraser and Jennifer sang the whole piece. When they got to the end, Jennifer looked at them, embarrassed. “Was that OK?” she asked quietly.

“It was wonderful!” exclaimed Susan.

Fraser nodded in agreement. “You have an incredible voice Jennifer,” he said with a smile.

Susan glanced at Fraser who gave a tiny nod. “Well,” she began, looking back at Jennifer, “I think you've got the job.” Jennifer smiled and blushed.

xXx

That evening at Fraser's apartment, Ray and Fraser were meant to be discussing the details of a case over dinner, but their conversation kept returning to Jennifer and the choir practice. "Her singing voice is quite remarkable," commented Fraser.

"Yeah Benny," agreed Ray, "this concert is gonna blow people away on Christmas Eve."

"I can't help being somewhat concerned about her appearance though," Fraser commented, helping himself to some more noodles from the take-out carton, “unfortunately it would seem that her living conditions leave a lot to be desired.”

"She'll have to scrub up for the big night," replied Ray, "you know how Susan likes you all to dress up for these occasions."

"Agreed," nodded Fraser, "if she doesn't own a ballgown, perhaps Francesca would be kind enough to lend her one?"

"I'll ask her," said Ray, "and I guess I'll get my tux outta the cleaners. It might be a bit tight for you though."

"Thank you kindly Ray," smiled Fraser, "a tuxedo is not something I own I'm afraid, I'm sure yours will be perfectly fine. I would feel more comfortable in my dress uniform though," he added, "it's not often I have the opportunity to wear the formal belt and gloves."

Ray laughed. "Are you gonna argue with Susan Murphy?" He grinned and Fraser shook his head. Susan was incredibly warm and friendly, but certainly not the kind of woman he wanted to get on the wrong side of.

"We should discuss this case," said Fraser, snapping his mind back to Police work.

"Yeah," agreed Ray. "OK, we got two dead bodies, both John Does, both shot in the head execution style." Fraser shuddered at the stark reminder of the violence he was faced with almost every day in this city. "Doc Pearson's report said both victims were apparently homeless, judging by their clothes and the dirt she dug out from under their fingernails. I asked her to save you some." Fraser was about to point out how that was unnecessary when he realised his partner was being facetious. He frowned disapprovingly at Ray. Ray sighed. "Look, I just don't get why Welsh saddled me with this," he said shaking his head. "I mean it's nearly Christmas and I got a pile of cases on my desk already. Who cares about a couple of winos anyway?"

Fraser looked at his friend, slightly shocked. "I do," he replied seriously, "and if you don't mind me saying, I find your assumption that they were both alcoholics simply because they were most likely of no fixed abode rather discriminatory."

Ray shook his head and got up from the table with his empty plate. He threw it into the sink and it landed with a clatter, startling Diefenbaker who had been dozing by the window. "Fraser, there are just some things about this city that you'll never understand."

"I see, please accept my apologies," replied Fraser sadly.

"No Benny, that's just it, you don't see," Ray spoke angrily, "you think there's some good in everyone if you dig deep enough, but believe me, some people just don't have one iota of good in them and you really shouldn't waste your energy trying to save them. The homeless are pretty high up on that list."

Fraser frowned. "Ray that is a gross generalisation..." began Fraser but Ray interrupted him.

“Benny, drop it OK,” Ray sighed, “I'm tired, I should probably go home, Aunt Carmella arrived this afternoon for the holidays and Ma will expect me to talk to her for hours before I hit the sack. What's the Dragon Lady got planned for you tomorrow?”

“Inspector Thatcher has requested that I decorate the Christmas tree tomorrow,” explained Fraser.

Ray sighed despondently. “You're a cop Benny,” he said, “she doesn't give you any respect.”

“It's quite alright Ray,” replied Fraser, “actually I'm looking forward to it. It's not an activity I've had occasion to participate in very often in the past”

Ray smiled and nodded. He realised that Fraser's past Christmasses had been nothing like the one's at the Vecchio house. His Ma had always made sure that Christmas was a special time for the whole family, even when his Pa had threatened to ruin everything. “OK Benny,” he said, “I gotta go.” He headed towards the door, but before he opened it he turned back to Fraser. “Um, forget what I said before OK?” he said, quietly, “I guess I didn't mean it.”

“Right you are,” replied Fraser. He had been taken aback by the amount of vitriol his friend had directed towards the homeless community. He really hoped that Ray's mood was being caused by tiredness and nothing else.

xXx

The next morning, Fraser had been busy decorating the rather oversized Christmas tree that Inspector Thatcher had ordered for the Consulate and his brown uniform was covered in multi coloured glitter and tiny pieces of tinsel that various decorations had decided to shed in the process. Constable Turnbull had just come off sentry duty and was attempting to help Fraser finish the tree, with varying degrees of success. “Turnbull, perhaps you should stand still and let me untangle you?” Fraser suggested, staring in disbelief at his younger colleague who had managed to get an entire string of fairy lights wrapped tightly around himself.

“I'm alright Sir,” Turnbull insisted, spinning first one way and then the other trying to unravel himself. Fraser shook his head in disbelief and he quickly reached out and grabbed one end of the string, while Turnbull continued spinning, eventually resulting in his freedom. “Oh, thank you so much Sir,” said a grateful, if a little dizzy, Turnbull. “Now, would you like me to climb the ladder and secure the angel on the top of the tree?”

“No!” exclaimed Fraser, rather more sharply than he would have liked. “I mean, no thank you Turnbull,” he quickly corrected himself, desperately trying to forget the image that had just flashed into his mind of Turnbull falling off the ladder and crashing to the ground, bringing the entire tree down with him. “I'll do it later, thank you kindly.”

Turnbull saluted and headed back to his desk as Fraser breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced down at Diefenbaker who had been sat watching Fraser for the last hour. Dief made a throaty noise. “It's not a ridiculous custom,” Fraser replied, draping the fairy lights around the tree. Dief yapped. “Oh where's your festive spirit?” asked Fraser, shaking his head. “I would have thought Christmas would be your favourite time of year, given your new found passion for over indulgent eating.” Fraser waited for his wolf's sarcastic reply and Dief didn't disappoint. Fraser chose to ignore him and climbed up the ladder to place the large plastic angel on top of the tree, then he climbed back down and plugged the fairy lights in.

“Oh let me,” Inspector Meg Thatcher appeared from her office and startled Fraser.

Fraser spun around to face his superior officer. “Sir?” he queried.

“I want to switch on the lights,” explained the Inspector and she flicked the switch. The tree lit up and Meg drew a sharp breath. “Oh Fraser, it's magnificent!” she exclaimed.

Fraser was stunned at her enthusiastic response, although he was quietly pleased with himself. He'd spent a significant amount of time arranging the decorations so that they were as aesthetically pleasing as they could be and the twinkling lights finished off the effect perfectly. “Thank you kindly Sir,” he replied.

Meg stepped closer to the tree and gently lifted one of the glass baubles with her hand. “This is pretty,” she said and immediately Fraser was standing close to her.

“I am struck by the colours in that one myself,” he agreed, lowering his voice slightly as he spoke. “I think the light refracting through the glass accentuates the colour of the walls and...” he paused for a brief moment and took a deep breath before continuing, “and your eyes.” As the words left his lips, he and Meg locked their gazes, neither of them quite sure what to do next. Meg's lips parted as if she were about to speak, but no words would come out.

Fraser couldn't understand why he kept saying things of that nature to her of all people, he couldn't understand it at all, he couldn't understand where it all came from, but it was somewhere deep inside himself and he simply couldn't control it. Just her presence brought out a side of him that he'd never been aware even existed before and he was finding that side of himself emerging more and more often. He was surprised to find out how much he liked it, he liked it a lot, he liked the way it made him feel...the way she made him feel, he corrected his thoughts. Suddenly, it all became too much and he stepped back, clearing his throat and tugging at the starched collar of his shirt, wondering why his neck tie had suddenly started to feel so tight. “Will that be all Sir?” he mumbled.

“Er, yes,” replied a slightly bemused Meg. She wasn't quite sure what had just happened. “Dismissed,” she said.

xXx

Fraser decided to take Dief for a walk to clear his head, he liked the feel of the snow beneath his feet, it reminded him of home. He wandered the streets of Chicago humming his choir solo under his breath, helping a few elderly ladies across the street as he did so and carrying people's Christmas shopping for them. Soon, he found himself approaching the Police station, maybe subconsciously he'd intended to walk there, he wasn't entirely sure. He was about to go in and see if Ray had any news on the homicide investigation when he spotted Mary, a homeless woman who often made herself at home close to the station. He walked over to her with a wave. “Hello Mary,” he said, smiling, “how are you? I hope you're keeping warm, the air temperature has dropped another degree since yesterday.”

“I'm fine thanks Constable,” replied Mary, reaching out to pat Diefenbaker on the head, “but I'd be happier when I can feel safe again. When are you people going to catch this murderer?”

Fraser frowned. “Do you know the identities of the two victims?” he asked.

Mary shook her head. “Nope, not really,” she replied, “they hung around under the old bridge mostly, I never go down there, but it's making us all nervous. What if the killer strikes again?”

“The homeless community are frightened?” Fraser queried and Mary nodded. “Do you believe that you're being targeted?” asked Fraser with some concern.

Mary shrugged. “All I know is that we've got two dead people in a week, seems like more than a coincidence to me, that's all.”

“Try not to worry,” Fraser smiled, “the Police will do everything they can to catch whoever did this.”

Mary tried to smile back, but she didn't seem all that convinced.

xXx

“No Constable,” Lieutenant Welsh sat in his office with his arms folded tightly across his chest. “I don't have the manpower. This is a Police department, not Social Services.”

Fraser frowned slightly. “Surely the Police are exactly that Sir?” he queried. Welsh looked puzzled. “A social service, I mean,” Fraser clarified.

“No Fraser,” replied Welsh, “our job is to respond to crimes and catch the scumbag criminals. That's it. The community support is someone else's job.”

“Sir, all I'm suggesting is that the Police maintain a visual presence among the homeless community until the conclusion of this investigation,” Fraser explained, “if we show them that we are working to keep them safe, they may be more forthcoming with information. As I understand it, there is a certain animosity.”

“Yes there is Constable,” Welsh admitted, “and part of me wishes it wasn't like that, but unfortunately we spend far too much of our time chasing down the winos and the junkies because they go around robbing people to fund their habits. If you give these people money, nine times out of ten they spend it on drugs or booze, if only the do gooders realised that before they fell for every sob story.” Welsh sighed and then added. “No offence Constable.”

“None taken Sir,” replied Fraser.

Welsh studied Fraser's expression. He hated to see the Mountie so disheartened and he was determined to show him that the people of his city did still have some good left inside them. He stood up. “OK Fraser,” he said, “if you want to take this on, I'll authorise it. Go out there and talk to them, reassure them and see if we can get any info in return. Take Vecchio with you.”

“Ah,” Fraser replied, “I'm not sure that he would, um, that is, I'm not convinced that Detective Vecchio feels quite the same way as I do on this matter.”

“Oh,” replied Welsh, “of course he doesn't.”

“Why do you say that Sir?” asked Fraser, but before Welsh had a chance to explain, the door burst open and Elaine walked in.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said, “but there's another body. I thought you'd want to know.”

xXx

“Well, cause of death is pretty obvious,” sighed Doctor Esther Pearson, pulling off her examination gloves. “Same as the other two.”

Fraser sighed and nodded. He was crouched in the snow with Doctor Pearson as she looked over the body of the victim who had a prominent bullet hole in the centre of his forehead. Meanwhile Ray was talking to potential witnesses. “Do you believe the bullet came from the same weapon?” asked Fraser.

Doctor Pearson shrugged. “You'll have to wait for the ballistics report Fraser,” she said, “I've got to find the bullet first though. There's no exit wound so it's in there somewhere.”

Fraser nodded in agreement as he carefully lifted the victim's left hand and studied his dirty fingernails. It appeared that Mary may have been right after all, someone had taken it upon themselves to murder homeless people, but why? He pulled open the man's coat and found a plastic bag in his inside pocket containing some loose change. He heard Ray's footsteps behind him and then his friend's voice over his shoulder. “So, what've we got?”

“Sixteen dollars and fifty one cents,” replied Fraser, tying the top of the plastic bag and handing it to Ray.

“I don't mean in there Fraser!” exclaimed Ray.

“Oh, sorry Ray,” replied Fraser, getting to his feet, “you were talking about the circumstances surrounding the death of this unfortunate individual weren't you.”

“Yes Benny,” snapped Ray, pulling his scarf up around his mouth and nose as the snowfall became heavier, “same as the other two?”

“Yes Ray,” replied Fraser, glancing back at the body, “single gunshot, instant death.”

“So some guy's going around executing street people,” Ray shrugged. “Someone's gotta do it,” he mumbled and walked off. Fraser was shocked and hesitated for a moment before running after Ray.  
Fraser was really concerned about Ray's attitude to these murders. He was about to say something to his friend when Dief barked loudly and his attention was drawn to someone standing in the shadows of a doorway.

Fraser squinted in the fading light. “Jennifer?” he said quietly, not quite sure if his eyes were deceiving him and began walking over towards the figure, but as he did so, they ran out of the doorway and down an alley. Fraser picked up speed and tried to follow them, but as he rounded the corner the person was nowhere to be seen. Fraser looked at Dief and frowned. “I'm not sure Dief,” he said, “it could have been.” He shrugged and walked back towards Ray.

“Guess what Benny,” said Ray, “nobody saw anything.”

“I did suggest to Lieutenant Welsh earlier that we should work closely with the homeless community,” Fraser explained, slightly nervously, “he agreed that you and I could spend some time here and attempt to demonstrate that we are on the same side. Hopefully we will able to convince these people to help us help them.”

Ray sneered at Fraser. “Fraser, it's not gonna work. Cops and the homeless are never gonna get along, that's just the way it is. They're all scum and we've got crimes with real victims that need to be solved. Sorry Benny, you can count me out.”

“I believe that Lieutenant Welsh wishes us to work together on this,” Fraser explained.

“He can wish all he likes Fraser,” snapped Ray, “he's not gonna get a genie out of a bottle and he's not gonna get me to spend any time down here. Now drop it Fraser. OK?”

Fraser studied Ray's face as he spoke. He couldn't quite understand what his friend was thinking and that made him nervous. Clearly, Ray had strong feelings about the homeless people of Chicago, but he had no idea why and it didn't make any sense. Ray had a habit of displaying a cynical, detached attitude sometimes, but Fraser knew that wasn't who he really was and it was just his way of coping with the terrible things he had to deal with every day as part of his job. This was different though, this was real. Ray really didn't seem to care about the three murder victims at all and Fraser was having trouble digesting that thought. “As you wish Ray,” he said quietly.

“What time's the choir practice tonight?” Ray asked, deliberately changing the subject.

“Seven thirty,” replied Fraser.

“I can't believe Susan wants you all rehearsing again tonight,” Ray grinned. “Frannie was planning on watching some old Christmas movie on TV with Uncle Eddie.”

“Susan is concerned that there's very little time before the concert and she wants us to fit in as many rehearsals as we can,” explained Fraser, glancing back over his shoulder.

“What is it Benny?” asked Ray, catching the look of concern on his friend's face.

“Nothing,” replied Fraser, “it was nothing.”

“OK,” shrugged Ray, “I gotta get back to the Two Seven, I'll pick you up for choir practice later.”

“Thank you kindly Ray.”

xXx

The choir practice went well and Susan Murphy started to feel more confident about the concert. Fraser was under the distinct impression that Jennifer had avoided eye contact with him all evening. Susan called them over as the others were getting their coats on. “You both sounded wonderful tonight,” she said and she laughed as they both blushed. “I know it's a lot to ask, but would both of you be able to come back tomorrow evening? There are a few things I want to try out and I don't need the others here.”

Jennifer nodded. “Yes, that's fine with me,” she smiled.

“I am involved in a homicide investigation at this juncture with Detective Vecchio,” began Fraser, “but that shouldn't prevent me from attending tomorrow.” Fraser noticed that Jennifer was staring at him as he spoke and not in the way that Francesca stared at him. She appeared to be a little uncomfortable in his presence.

“Excellent,” smiled Susan, “I'll see you both tomorrow then.” She gathered up her music and headed for the door.

As the rest of the choir began to leave, Jennifer started to put on her coat and Fraser walked back towards Ray who had been listening from the side of the church. “Sounding good Benny,” he said, holding out Fraser's coat for him.

“Thank you kindly Ray,” replied Fraser, but he was a little distracted by Jennifer. He handed his coat back to Ray, “Could you please excuse me for a few moments?” he said and he quickly walked towards Jennifer, passing Francesca on the way.

“Where's he going?” Francesca asked her brother. She wanted to get home.

Ray just shrugged. “Beats me,” he replied, although of course he'd noticed Jennifer's behaviour that evening too and he had a feeling Fraser wasn't going to be able to ignore it.

Fraser walked up behind Jennifer and spoke her name. She almost jumped out of her skin. “I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to startle you,” said Fraser.

Jennifer managed a tiny laugh. “It's my fault, I'm a bit jumpy today.”

“I hope you don't think I'm interfering,” Fraser began, running his thumb over his eyebrow, “but I couldn't help noticing you still have the same dressing on your hand that you had on yesterday.” Jennifer looked down at her bandaged hand and nodded. She knew that it was filthy and she was quite embarrassed about it. “If you wish, I could change it for you?” Fraser continued, “I know that Father Behan has a first aid kit in the back room.”

Jennifer thought about it for a moment. She really just wanted to go tonight, but she knew that the bandage really did need changing. “Thank you,” she said quietly and followed him out to the back room.

Fraser reached the first aid kit down from the shelf and Jennifer sat in an old chair. “So what did you do to your hand, is it cut?” asked Fraser, sitting in the chair opposite her and opening the box.

“Um no,” replied Jennifer, “I burnt it. It was silly, I was cooking and I was just careless.”

“Oh dear,” said Fraser as he began unwrapping the dirty, makeshift dressing on the young woman's hand. “Burns can be particularly susceptible to infection,” he continued, “so you really should...” but he stopped short as he revealed the injury. He quickly clicked on the table lamp and adjusted it so that the light was directed at her hand. “Oh,” he said as the light confirmed his initial suspicions, “you were cooking over an open fire?”

Jennifer hesitated for a moment. “Um, yes,” she eventually replied.

“It does appear to be slightly infected,” said Fraser, “but don't worry, I have some ointment that will clear that up.” Jennifer nodded appreciatively and Fraser set to work cleaning the burn on the palm of her hand. “So, where do you live?” Fraser asked casually, as he worked, “perhaps we could drive you home? The snow is quite persistent now.”

“No,” replied Jennifer sharply, “I mean, thank you, but I prefer to walk. I don't live too far from here, that is, I'm staying with a friend.”

“I see,” replied Fraser, waiting for her to elaborate. He didn't want to push her to much, but he was concerned about her.

“Um, I didn't know you were a Policeman,” Jennifer said, somewhat nervously.

“Yes I am,” replied Fraser proudly, “Royal Canadian Mounted Police.”

“Oh,” said Jennifer, surprised, “you're the Mountie. I've heard people talk about you.”

“Oh dear,” Fraser smiled and he applied some antibiotic ointment to her hand.

“Don't worry, it's all good,” Jennifer smiled back. “They say...they say you help people.”

“I try to, wherever I can,” replied Fraser. He stopped dressing her hand for a moment and looked at her. “Do you need help?” he asked her seriously. Jennifer didn't quite know what to say, so she said nothing. Fraser waited for a reply, but when it didn't come he continued wrapping her hand in a clean bandage, a little disappointed that he hadn't been able to get her to open up to him He was now more convinced than ever that he'd seen her at the scene of the murder that afternoon and now he had concluded, going by her appearance and given that she'd sustained a burn while cooking over an open fire, that she was in fact homeless and living on the streets. “There,” he announced, “how does that feel?”

Jennifer flexed her fingers gingerly. It was much more comfortable now and the ointment had taken away much of the discomfort that she'd been struggling with for a few days. “Thank you,” she said and got up from the chair.

“I'll check it again tomorrow evening,” said Fraser and Jennifer nodded. “Before you go,” Fraser said suddenly, stopping her from leaving the room, “I know it's not chivalrous of me to ask you this,” he continued, “but how old are you?”

“Nineteen,” Jennifer replied quickly. “I'm nineteen, I've always been small for my age.”

“I see,” nodded Fraser. Unless he was very much mistaken, she was a few years younger than nineteen, possibly as young as sixteen, he thought to himself. “One more thing,” he added, reaching up to replace the first aid box on the shelf, “did I see you this afternoon? At the scene of the murder.”

“Murder?” replied Jennifer, trying to sound surprised, “what murder?”

Fraser smiled at her. “My mistake,” he said.

As Ray drove him back to his apartment, Fraser contemplated telling his friend his suspicions regarding Jennifer, but given Ray's apparent malevolence towards homeless people, he decided against it. Francesca was talking at full speed about her nail polish anyway and Fraser really didn't think this was the time or the place. He was very concerned about Jennifer now though.

xXx

The next morning, Fraser arrived at the Twenty Seventh early. He was pleased to see that he'd arrived before Ray and he crossed straight to Elaine's desk. “Good morning Elaine,” he said.

“Oh, hi Fraser,” smiled Elaine and immediately stopped making paper chains. She'd found the box of Christmas decorations at the back of a cupboard in Lieutenant Welsh's office late last night and thought she'd better make some new chains this year.

“Elaine, I was hoping you'd be able to assist me with something,” Fraser asked her as he picked up the paper chain and added a considerable length at lightening speed.

Elaine was totally amazed and very grateful. “Anything,” she smiled and she really meant it too.

“I wish to search through the missing persons reports,” continued Fraser, rubbing at his left eyebrow with his thumb. “I'm looking in particular for a girl, aged around sixteen, most likely reported missing within the last six months.”

Elaine clicked a few keys on her computer keyboard and brought up the relevant information and Fraser began scanning down the list of names and photographs. “How's the investigation going?” Elaine asked him.

Fraser stopped looking at the computer screen for a moment. “Not too well,” he admitted, “at this juncture there is neither a suspect nor a motive.”

“I imagine Ray's not busting a gut on this one,” Elaine said, a little dejectedly, but before Fraser had a chance to query her statement the fax machine buzzed into life and Elaine got up to see what had come in. Fraser refocussed his thoughts on the missing persons register. Elaine walked back to her desk and held out a piece of paper for Fraser. “Ballistics report,” she explained.

Fraser took the printout from her and scanned down the report. “Ah,” he said, “so the three victims were killed by bullets from the same gun.” He made a mental note of the make and model of the murder weapon.

“Did you expect a different answer?” Elaine asked, taking the fax back from him.

Fraser shook his head. “No,” he admitted, “but it's always important not to jump to conclusions.”

Elaine took the fax and walked it over to Ray's desk so that it would be there when he got in. She walked back to her desk again and stood looking over Fraser's shoulder. “Wow,” she sighed sadly, “you just don't realise how many missing sixteen year old girls there are.”

Fraser turned and looked up at her. “Indeed,” he agreed. “Elaine, what did you mean about Ray just now?” he asked. Elaine looked suddenly uncomfortable. “Elaine, please,” Fraser continued, “I think Lieutenant Welsh tried to tell me yesterday, but we were interrupted. If this has some bearing on Ray's ability or willingness to solve this multiple homicide...”

“Fraser,” Elaine interrupted him, sitting back down on her chair, “to be honest I thought Ray would have told you already.”

“Told me what?” asked Fraser, tugging at his ear and frowning, “I'm sorry, I'm afraid I have no idea what you're referring to.”

Elaine took a deep breath, glanced over her shoulder to make sure nobody was listening and then spoke in a low voice. “Four years ago, there was an armed robbery at a jewellery store. Ray was heading up the investigation, but he had no leads. Then a witness came forward, a boy, a street kid. His name was Charlie and he'd seen the whole thing. He identified the perps and they were caught and charged. The boy was scared but Ray persuaded him to agree to testify at the trial and the two guys went down for it. Then Ray would see Charlie out on the streets with some of the other homeless people and sometimes Ray would take him to a diner or something and treat him.”

Fraser smiled at Ray's compassion, but Elaine's face had become grave. “What happened?” he asked her.

“The weather turned really cold just before Christmas, we had more snow than I've seen in years and Ray got concerned about Charlie,” Elaine explained, “so he gave him one of his old coats. A long wool coat, really warm, I think it was Armani, but it was really old, not worth a light, but Charlie was really grateful. Then Ray arranged to meet Charlie on Christmas morning on his way back from church because I think he'd got the boy a Christmas present. Anyway, Charlie never showed up. So after having Christmas dinner with his family, Ray went out to look for him.” Elaine went quiet.

“Did he find the boy?” prompted Fraser.

Elaine nodded sadly. “Ray found him down an alley, behind a dumpster, he was dead.” Fraser drew a sharp breath as Elaine spoke. “He'd been stabbed four times. He wasn't wearing the coat any more.”

Fraser took a moment for the information to sink in. “Oh no,” he said quietly, “he was killed for the coat.” Fraser closed his eyes.

Elaine nodded. “He was fourteen years old Benton. Ray was devastated and he went searching for the killer. It was one of the other homeless guys, he was easy to find of course.”

“He was wearing the coat,” said Fraser sadly.

“Ray went crazy,” Elaine continued, “when back up arrived, the guy was on the floor and Ray was...well, it was self defence.”

Fraser looked up at her and narrowed his eyes. “Self defence?” he queried.

“The guy still had the murder weapon on him,” said Elaine, “so Ray was forced to defend himself.” Fraser raised his eyebrows questioningly as Elaine hadn't sounded very convincing with that last part. “IA were all over him of course,” she sighed, “but he was cleared, thanks to Lieutenant Welsh. I think Welsh put his own career on the line for Ray.”

Fraser let out a slow breath. “Poor Ray,” he said. “So now his opinion of the homeless is forever scarred by that incident.”

Elaine sighed sadly. “I think he can see past it most of the time,” she explained, “he's not stupid, he knows that they're not all like that, but I think at Christmas it just all comes back to him. It hit him so hard.”

“I wish he'd told me all this,” Fraser coated his lower lip slowly with his tongue as he tried to comprehend it all. “We could have talked about it. I would have understood.”

“Yeah well, maybe I didn't want you to know,” Ray's voice cracked as he spoke.

Elaine nearly jumped out of her chair. “Ray!” she exclaimed. “I didn't realise you'd come in.”

“Obviously,” snarled Ray. “Y'know Elaine, I thought you had some integrity.”

“Ray it was entirely my fault,” said Fraser, looking at his friend apologetically.

“Shut up Fraser,” hissed Ray.

“Hey don't talk to him like that,” Elaine snapped defensively. “He's your best friend. I just thought...”

“You don't know nothing Elaine,” replied Ray, his voice getting higher as he got angrier, “if you wanna be a real cop, then you need to learn when to keep your big mouth shut!” With that Ray stormed across to his desk.

Elaine was close to tears, but they were mainly tears of anger. Fraser looked at her supportively. “It's alright, he really didn't mean that,” he said reassuringly, “I'll talk to him when he's had a chance to calm down.”

xXx

That afternoon, Fraser and Dief were back out on the streets. Fraser had decided to keep out of Ray's way for a few hours and he'd been talking to some of the homeless people and had discovered one or two interesting pieces of information that he would pass on to Ray later. Some of them knew Fraser as he'd helped them before and they trusted him, more than they trusted the Chicago PD. Fraser was talking to Tony, a man he'd spoken to several times before. Fraser took the opportunity to ask him if he knew Jennifer. Tony thought for a while. “Wavy hair, tiny kid, pretty smile?” he asked.

“Yes,” agreed Fraser, “that could be her.”

Tony got up from the box he was sitting on. “Follow me Mountie,” he said and Fraser and Dief dutifully did just that. They walked to the end of an alley and Tony lifted a plank of wood and pulled open a makeshift door. He called out. “Clara, it's me, it's Tony.”

“In here!” the voice came back. Tony stepped into the old derelict building and Fraser followed. “Hey Tony,” smiled a middle aged woman with greying hair, tied roughly behind her head with string. “Oh, who's this?”

“Constable Benton Fraser, Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” Fraser introduced himself, holding out his hand. Clara rather nervously reached out a gloved hand and accepted the handshake. Clearly she was nervous of dealings with Police officers.

“Fraser here was asking after Jenny,” said Tony. “Is she still with you?”

“Yes,” replied Clara. Then her eyes narrowed and she eyed Fraser with suspicion. “Is she in trouble?” she asked.

“Not at all,” replied Fraser with a smile.

Clara decided that this particular Policeman could be trusted. She'd known Tony for a long time and if Tony trusted him then that was good enough for her. She turned and called out over her shoulder. “Jenny, sweetheart, someone to see you.”

“Who?” came a quiet voice and Jennifer appeared. She stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw Fraser standing there. Her face crumbled and she bolted out of the door as fast as she could.

“Jennifer, wait!” Fraser called out as he chased after her. “I just want to talk to you.” He chased the girl out of the alley and he soon caught up with her. She found it almost impossible to run in the deep snow, but Fraser of course was quite used to it. He grabbed her arm and spun her around.

“Leave me alone,” cried Jennifer.

“Jennifer, it's alright,” Fraser tried to reassure her, “I promise I won't judge you for where you live.”

“It's temporary,” Jennifer tried to explain, “just until I get myself sorted out.”

“How old are you really,” asked Fraser gently.

“I'm nineteen,” replied Jennifer forcefully.

“Please tell me the truth,” Fraser pleaded, “I believe that you're a minor and you've run away from home. Why Jennifer? What was happening at home?”

“I don't have to tell you anything,” snapped Jennifer.

“No, you don't,” agreed Fraser, “but if you do, perhaps I can help?”

“I don't need your help,” replied Jennifer, angrily wiping away the tears that had started to roll down her cheeks.

“If you insist,” nodded Fraser and he released her arm. Jennifer immediately ran off. “I'll see you at choir practice later,” He called out hopefully. He really hoped that she'd show up at the church and that he hadn't ruined everything, but he knew he'd had to try.

Clara and Tony came running up to him. "What did you say to her?" asked Clara angrily.

"I'm sorry," replied Fraser, tugging at his left ear, "I was just trying to help. I didn't mean to frighten her away."

"We're all frightened enough round here as it is," replied Clara.

"The murders?" enquired Fraser.

"Someone wants to see us all dead," Tony replied.

"We don't know what their motive is at this juncture," clarified Fraser.

Clara shook her head. "You people are all the same," she sighed.

"No," insisted Fraser. "Please, you can trust me, I want to catch this murderer before he can hurt anyone else, but you have to work with the Police." Clara didn't look very convinced. "I have reason to believe that Jennifer may have witnessed the latest murder," Fraser went on. "I think she's scared. She needs to tell someone what she knows. I can provide her with protection."

Clara shrugged. “She didn't see nothing,” she said, determinedly.

“How do you know that?” asked Fraser.

“I just do,” insisted Clara. “She didn't see no murder and she's not gonna talk to the Police.”

Fraser looked disappointedly at Clara. “Understood,” he said. “But she knows where to find me if she needs me.” Clara raised her eyebrows questioningly. “She recently joined the church choir where I am also a member,” explained Fraser.

“She did?” Clara sounded surprised.

Fraser nodded. “She has a beautiful voice. We are meeting this evening to rehearse...hopefully.”

xXx

Fraser sat in his apartment staring at his dinner. He hoped that Ray had calmed down a little since this morning and he felt terribly guilty for pushing Elaine into talking to him about his friend as now Ray was angry with her. He was also more worried than ever now about Jennifer and he really hoped that she'd attend their rehearsal later. He looked at his watch, it was still early, Susan wasn't going to be there until eight thirty this evening so he had plenty of time. He wondered whether he should go back out and speak to Jennifer again, but he decided to wait and see if she came to the church first. He could tell how much she loved singing and how much being part of the choir meant to her, even after only a couple of rehearsals. He glanced down at Dief and noticed that of course his wolf had finished his meal already. Fraser sighed, stood up and scraped the contents of his plate into Dief's bowl. Dief responded with a happy woof. “Just don't give yourself indigestion,” Fraser warned him.

Just then there was a knock at the door. “Ray?” Fraser said, expectantly, running to the door and opening it.

“Hi Benny,” Ray stood there, looking rather sheepish. “So, are you gonna let me in?”

Fraser smiled at him with relief. “Of course Ray.” Fraser stepped to one side and Ray walked in as Fraser closed the door behind him. “Have a seat,” said Fraser, indicating towards his table and chairs.

Ray took off his scarf, hat and overcoat and draped them over the back of one of the chairs before sitting himself down on the hard wooden seat. “Y'know, I wish you'd get a couch,” he said, with half a smile.

“Sorry Ray,” replied Fraser, “I've just never seen the need for one.” Fraser sat in the chair opposite his friend. “Um, Ray,” he began, “about this morning, please don't take it out on Elaine, I asked her to...”

“It's OK Benny,” replied Ray, “I already apologised to her. We're good.”

Fraser nodded and then there was an awkward silence. Fraser wanted Ray to talk to him about what happened with the young homeless boy, Charlie, but after Ray's reaction this morning Fraser thought it was best to let him steer the conversation.

Ray got up and crossed to the window. He removed the piece of wood that Fraser used to hold his window open and slid it shut. “It's freezing outside Benny,” he said.

“Sorry Ray,” replied Fraser. Dief whined, complaining about the sudden rise in temperature and Fraser glared at him.

“I know what you must be thinking,” said Ray, looking out of the window.

“You do?” replied Fraser, slightly puzzled.

“Yeah,” replied Ray, “you think that I think that all the street people would kill each other given half a chance.”

Fraser shook his head. “That's not what I'm thinking at all Ray,” he said. “I know that you were affected by the events that took place at Christmas four years ago and I understand how difficult it must be not to see the homeless in a bad light after that.”

“I just don't see why they should get free food and stuff just because they choose to live like that,” Ray spun round to face Fraser now, “I work my butt off, I risk my life every day and I don't get all these handouts.”

“Ray, many of the homeless don't choose to live that way, many people rely on those handouts, as you call them, for survival,” Fraser tried to explain, “of course there are those who choose to live on the streets as they prefer the freedom offered by that way of life, but in fact, the reason many people find themselves homeless in the first place is because their choices have been taken away from them.”

“Or they're too drunk, or off their heads on crack to care,” added Ray, cynically.

“Addiction is an illness,” Fraser pointed out.

“Don't lecture me Benny,” said Ray waving one hand in a gesture of dismissal.

“I apologise Ray,” replied Fraser.

“Stop that,” Ray snapped at him.

“Sorry Ray. Um, stop what exactly?” asked Fraser, puzzled.

“Stop apologising Benny!” exclaimed Ray. “I came round here coz I wanted to be the one saying sorry.”

“Oh, I'm sorry Ray...” Fraser immediately stopped talking and shook his head as soon as he realised what he'd said. “Please sit down again Ray,” he said, “I'll make some tea.”

Ray nodded and sat down as Fraser went to make tea. “I nearly lost my shield,” Ray said quietly, breaking the silence that had fallen again, “I laid into that guy like...like...oh I don't know, I wasn't thinking straight. He still had the knife, but it wasn't self defence, not really.”

“I, um, I know,” replied Fraser, without turning round.

“I don't know what I was trying to do for that kid,” Ray continued. “That one kid...Charlie...he got under my skin and...and...” his voice trailed off.

“You were trying to help him Ray,” Fraser said earnestly.

“I got him killed,” sighed Ray, closing his eyes.

“It wasn't your fault,” Fraser tried to reassure him, “you were just trying to keep him warm.”

“Of course it was,” replied Ray, incredulously, “I made him a target. That other crazy homeless bastard wouldn't have looked twice at him if it wasn't for that stupid coat.”

Fraser carried two cups of tea over to the table. “You do realise that you're basing your ideas about an entire group of people on the heinous actions of one man,” he said, placing the cups on the table and taking his seat again. Of course he knew that Ray realised what he was doing, but Fraser hoped that hearing someone else say it might help his friend get some perspective.

“I know that Fraser,” replied Ray, sipping at his tea. “What is this stuff?” he asked, screwing up his nose.

“Bark tea,” replied Fraser, “it has many health benefits.” Ray shrugged and took another sip. The two friends talked for a while about the events that had affected Ray so badly. Ray at times was close to tears, particularly as he spoke about the moment he'd discovered Charlie's body. He'd been fuelled with rage and he'd raced off to search the streets for the person who'd killed the boy. When he'd seen the other homeless man walking along wearing his coat, something had just snapped inside Ray and he'd chased him down an alley. The man pulled out the knife he'd used to kill Charlie, still covered in the boy's blood and Ray could easily have drawn his gun, but instead he'd started punching him. Ray shuddered as he recalled that moment, it was stupid, he could have ended up getting stabbed too, but he hadn't been able to control his anger. He knew what he did was wrong, he'd known it was wrong while he was doing it.

“Intense emotions can be incredibly overpowering Ray,” Fraser said, “you weren't in control of your actions.”

“That's no excuse Benny,” sighed Ray, “I'm a cop, I have to stay in control otherwise...otherwise it's dangerous. I seem to remember you told me something like that once.”

Fraser realised that Ray was talking about the time he had gone after Frank Zuko, determined to put him away for the murder of Detective Lewis Gardino, even though he'd known deep down that Zuko wasn't the killer. The fallout from that situation had resulted in the death of a woman very dear to Ray and Fraser had tried to warn him the whole time, but Ray had been so blinded by his anger that he hadn't listened to his friend. Ray knew that he would never make that mistake again. Fraser might be the most annoying man in the world, but one of the most annoying things about him was that he was almost always right, especially about things like that.

“I imagine this time of year is quite difficult for you,” suggested Fraser, solemnly.

Ray shrugged. “Christmas in the Vecchio house is crazy Benny, there's always something going on, some family argument, Ma cooking far too much food, Frannie upsetting one of our cousins, but...every now and again I just remember and...” Ray's voice cracked again and Fraser put his hand supportively on his friend's shoulder. Ray looked at him with half a smile.

“Ray, I saw Jennifer today,” said Fraser, trying to steer the conversation around to the murder investigations.

“Jennifer from the choir?” asked Ray.

“Yes,” confirmed Fraser, “I went to talk to some of the people about the murders, to see if anyone had any information and I saw her there. She's living on the streets Ray.”

Ray was quite surprised, although given her appearance it made perfect sense. “Jeez,” he sighed, sadly, “how old it she? She's just a kid.”

“She informed me that she's nineteen Ray,” explained Fraser.

Ray raised his eyebrows in surprise. “And you believe her?” he asked.

“Not for one minute,” replied Fraser. “There are many ways to determine a person's age and based on those factors, I estimate her age to be closer to sixteen.” Ray took another sip of tea as Fraser spoke. “I studied the missing persons register with Elaine this morning and I didn't see her listed, although I didn't quite get chance to go through the whole list,” Fraser continued.

“That could mean nobody's ever bothered to report her missing,” suggested Ray and Fraser nodded.

“I'm afraid I may have frightened her away. She was uncomfortable with the fact that I was aware of her living arrangements,” Fraser explained, slowly scratching his left eyebrow with his thumbnail.

“Not surprised,” shrugged Ray, “she doesn't seem like the usual bums and winos that live on the streets.” He caught his friend's disappointed look. “I know Benny, I'm generalising again,” Ray said, “but you know what I mean.”

“I don't believe that she's been living this way for more than a few months,” replied Fraser. Then he glanced at his watch. “Great scot!” he exclaimed. “I need to get to the church, would you be kind enough to drive me please Ray? I was going to walk, but...”

“Course Benny,” grinned Ray.

xXx

When they walked into the church, Susan had only just arrived herself, but Jennifer was nowhere to be seen, much to Fraser's disappointment. Then suddenly he noticed all the Christmas decorations. The church had been covered with holly and candles and there was an enormous tree in the corner, even bigger than the one at the Consulate. “Hi Frase!” Fraser and Ray spun round to see Francesca running towards them. “What do you think?” she asked spreading her arms wide.

“You did all this?” Fraser replied, surprised.

Francesca smiled. “Do you like it? I've been here all afternoon. I wanted it to look special for our concert.”

Even Ray was impressed. “Wow Frannie,” he said, looking around.

Francesca grabbed hold of Fraser's arm. “Come with me Frase,” she said, her voice low and husky. Fraser looked back at Ray with fear in his eyes as Ray shook his head in disgust at his sister's blatant flirting. Francesca dragged Fraser over to the side of the church. She stopped and spun him round to face her. Then she looked up to the ceiling.

Fraser had no idea what was going on, but with trepidation, he slowly tilted his head backwards and looked up too. “Oh dear,” he said as he saw the mistletoe that Francesca had hung from the rafters.

“Merry Christmas Benton,” Francesca smiled and then she closed her eyes, pursed her lips and waited. Fraser stood frozen to the spot. Francesca waited a bit longer before opening one eye and was shocked to see the frowning face of her brother standing where Fraser had been only moments ago. “Ray!” she exclaimed, opening her other eye and slumping her head forward in disappointment.

“Frannie, this is a church,” Ray snapped at her, folding his arms across his chest in disgust and glancing up at the mistletoe.

“It's a Christmas tradition Ray,” Francesca sneered back at him.

“Throwing yourself at your brother's best friend? I sure as hell have never heard of that tradition before?” queried Ray, sarcastically. Francesca screwed her face up, turned on her heels and stormed off with her head held high. Ray shook his head and glanced over to the piano where Susan and Fraser were talking. He knew Fraser was worried that Jennifer wouldn't show up and he really hoped that she did decide to come. Susan wanted Fraser to try some slight changes to the part he was going to sing and they began to run through them as Ray listened. Half an hour went past and there was no sign of Jennifer and Fraser was quite worried now. He excused himself for a minute and Susan went to make some coffee while Fraser came and sat with Ray.

“Perhaps we should go and look for her?” Fraser suggested. Ray was just about to answer, when Diefenbaker leapt to his feet and barked at the door as it slowly opened and Jennifer stepped in. “Oh thank goodness,” Fraser said under his breath and he strode across the church to speak to her.

“Sorry I'm a bit late,” said Jennifer, “I, um, I wasn't sure if you'd want me to come back.”

“Why on earth would you think that?” sighed Fraser. Jennifer just shrugged. “Come along,” Fraser smiled at her, “Susan has made some small changes, we should rehearse them.” He led her over to the piano.

“I didn't see anything,” Jennifer said suddenly.

“Jennifer, I think you should speak to Ray,” he beckoned to his friend to come over, “Detective Vecchio is with the Chicago Police Department.”

Jennifer looked suddenly panic stricken. “Francesca's brother's a cop too?” she said.

“Jennifer, it's alright,” Fraser tried to reassure her, “he's only interested in apprehending the murderer.” Fraser paused for a moment and then added, “He has no desire to investigate, um, your circumstances.” Jennifer didn't seem convinced, but Ray had joined them now. “Jennifer didn't see the crime occur, but she may have some other pertinent information.” Fraser explained.

“Great,” replied Ray, pulling his notebook from his pocket, “now tell me everything you can remember. Even the little things could be important.”

Jennifer took a deep breath and told them everything she could think of. She hadn't seen anything, but she'd heard shouting and then when the Police arrived she'd watched from the shadows. “We're all really scared now,” she said in a shaky voice, “whoever it is has just picked random victims, it could be any one of us next, how are we meant to protect ourselves?”

“She has a very good point Ray,” agreed Fraser, “our usual advice of staying indoors and keeping your doors and windows locked has little or no relevance here.”

Ray sighed. “OK,” he nodded, putting his notebook back in his pocket, “I'll talk to Welsh, see if we can't get more officers out there.”

“Thank you kindly Ray,” nodded Fraser, appreciatively as Susan returned carrying a tray of cups.

After they'd finished rehearsing, Fraser wanted to change the dressing on Jennifer's hand before they left. He led her into the back room and she sat in the same chair as she had last night while Fraser began removing the old dressing. “The church looks lovely with all the Christmas decorations,” smiled Jennifer.

“Indeed,” agreed Fraser, “Francesca did most of the work, I believe.”

“I like her, she's nice,” Jennifer said, “she said she could lend me a dress to wear for our concert.”

Fraser studied her hand under the light. “This is looking much better than it did yesterday,” he said and he applied some more antiseptic ointment. As he worked on her hand, he thought about the best way to phrase his next question. In the end he thought the direct approach would be best. “Jennifer, why are you living on the streets?” he asked her.

Jennifer looked away from him. “I had to leave home,” she said quietly.

“I'd like to help you, but there's very little I can do if you don't talk to me,” Fraser said, gently.

“I'm not going back, you can't make me,” said Jennifer in a very determined way.

“Of course I won't force you to do anything you don't want to,” he assured her, “but there has to be somewhere else you can go?”

Jennifer shrugged. “It was my decision to go, I had to leave.” She slowly turned her head back towards Fraser now.

“Jennifer,” Fraser spoke softly now, “were you being abused at home?”

Jennifer shook her head. “No, no, it was nothing like that,” she reassured him and Fraser breathed a sigh of relief. “I left because it wasn't fair on my Mom to have to look after me and my brother,” Jennifer continued. “My brother's not a bad person, but he kept doing dumb things.”

Fraser frowned. “What sort of dumb things?” he asked her.

“He just got in with the wrong crowd and they made him break into cars, snatch purses, stupid dumb things like that,” Jennifer explained. “The cops kept calling my Mom to say they'd caught him again. He's only thirteen.”

“Oh,” replied Fraser, “but I'm not sure I understand? Why did your brother's actions necessitate your running away?” Jennifer suddenly became upset. “Jennifer, it's alright,” Fraser tried to reassure her. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you.” He handed her his handkerchief and she wiped her eyes with it.

“They found him in a field, he'd drunk, like, a whole bottle of tequila,” Jennifer continued, “they had to pump his stomach, he nearly died.”

“That must have been terrible for you and your mother,” said Fraser gently. Jennifer nodded and cried into his handkerchief. Fraser finished dressing the burn on her hand and packed away the first aid kit, waiting for her to compose herself enough to be able to continue. He moved his chair closer to hers and put a comforting hand on her arm. “Sshhh,” he soothed, “it's alright.”

“My Mom just didn't know what to do with him,” she sniffed, “and then my grades started to slip. I couldn't help it, I was so worried about my brother and I couldn't concentrate any more. My Mom didn't even notice to start with, but then I flunked this big test and they called my Mom in to my school. She went nuts.”

Fraser looked at her and narrowed his eyes. “Jennifer,” he began, “how old are you?”

“I already told you that,” snapped the young woman.

“If you're still at school then the assertion that you're nineteen years of age would appear to be hyperbole,” Fraser pointed out. “In fact, if you are of school age, then you're a minor.”

Jennifer got to her feet. “I have to go,” she said, heading for the door.

“Wait,” Fraser said, following her, “look at me.” Jennifer slowly turned around. “Procedure dictates that my duty is to alert the social workers, however...”

“Please don't,” begged Jennifer, interrupting him, “please, they'll make me go home, or they'll put me in foster care. I'm not a kid any more, I'm...I'm...seventeen.” Fraser raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “Nearly,” added Jennifer quietly.

“Jennifer, I was going to add that I trust you to make your own decision,” Fraser continued, “I know you'll do the right thing and I am satisfied that Clara is taking good care of you at this juncture.”

Jennifer smiled. It was the first time that anyone had ever trusted her with such an important decision. Her mother struggled so much to deal with her brother's behaviour that she seemed to forget that Jennifer was older than him and Jennifer had often felt stifled in her own home. “I just need some time Benton,” she smiled, adding, “thank you.”

Fraser nodded in acknowledgement. “At least let me ask Ray to drive you back tonight,” he said. Jennifer thought for a moment and eventually smiled and nodded.

xXx

As they drove through the streets, Fraser watched Jennifer out of the corner of his eye and slowly coated his lower lip with his tongue. She was looking out of the window of Ray's car at all of the Christmas lights that were twinkling in the darkness. Suddenly she looked so lost, so young and Fraser began to wonder whether he was doing the right thing. He often bent the rules slightly if he thought it was the right thing to do, far more often than most people realised actually, but he was starting to have second thoughts about delaying calling in the authorities. He glanced across at Ray as they pulled up in the alley close to where Jennifer was living. “I'll stay in the car,” said Ray, blowing on his freezing fingers. Snow was still falling and the wind had picked up. Fraser of course had not given the weather a single thought.

As Fraser and Jennifer walked down the alley and Dief bounded ahead, Ray turned to pick up his hat from the back seat and nearly jumped out of his skin. “Pop!” he exclaimed, “can't you leave me alone?”

The ghost of Ray's father leaned forward in his seat. “I'm the ghost of Christmas past.”

“Real funny Pop,” sneered Ray.

“Why are you bothering with all these street folks anyway?” continued the ghost, “that stupid Mountie needs to sort out his priorities. They're not worth wasting your time on, let 'em kill each other.”

“They're not killing each other Pop,” Ray clarified, “they're being killed by someone. Either way, no one deserves to be murdered, it makes no odds where they live.” Ray shook his head in dismay. “I don't know why I'm even discussing this with you,” he said.

“You should have killed that guy when you had the chance four years ago,” Ray's father said.

Ray clenched his teeth as the anger rose inside him. “Go away Pop,” he said, “that's not how I do things.”

The ghost laughed. “You got all worked up over that homeless kid Ray and then you nearly screwed up your whole life over him. If you'd have just killed that guy, at least...”

“Shut up Pop and get out of my car,” Ray hissed at him.

“I'm just trying to help you,” replied Ray's father, indignantly.

“You never helped me with anything the whole time you were alive Pop,” Ray snarled, “all you ever did was make me feel...” Ray couldn't even think of a word to describe how his father had made him feel. Worthless? Useless? They weren't strong enough words. Ray closed his eyes and hoped his Pop would be gone when he opened them.

Meanwhile, Fraser called out for Clara. She eventually appeared, squeezing through a gap in the dilapidated warehouse that she had called home for many years.

“Good evening,” Fraser said to her.

“Have you people caught him yet?” Clara snapped at him.

“I'm terribly sorry,” Fraser replied apologetically, “but the Chicago PD do have a lot of manpower on the case. We're hoping that they will be sending officers here tomorrow to provide you all with extra security.”

Clara nodded and then she looked at Jennifer with concern, realising that she'd been crying. “You OK?” she asked her. “Have the cops been upsetting you?”

Jennifer managed to smile. “No, I'm fine,” she assured her.

“OK,” replied Clara, not entirely convinced. She put her arm around the younger woman and led her back towards the building and Fraser and Dief watched them go and then turned and walked back towards the Riv.

Fraser opened the door of the car and let Dief jump onto the back seat before placing his hat on the dashboard and sitting himself down. “They don't trust us Benny, it's always been like this. Can't blame them I guess?” said Ray, grateful that his unwanted visitor had indeed disappeared. Fraser glanced across at Ray as he started the engine and his friend caught the look. “Benny, I think you're doing the right thing,” Ray assured him. “She's a smart kid, she'll come around. If you force her into doing something she doesn't want to do she'll resent you for it and I don't think that's going to be any good for her in the long term.”

Fraser nodded. “I hope you're right Ray.”

xXx

The next morning, Ray and Fraser were back out on the streets coordinating all the extra uniformed Police officers that Lieutenant Welsh had sanctioned. Fraser was explaining to two young officers all the places that many of the homeless people liked to sleep, the various empty buildings and other places they went to find some approximation of shelter and warmth.

Ray was talking to Mary. “If you hear or see anything suspicious, just tell one of these guys. They're here to help you,” he said.

“Thanks Detective,” replied Mary, “we're grateful for this you know.” Ray nodded and pulled his hat further down over his freezing ears.

“Ray!” Fraser called out and Ray walked over to him. “Have you seen Clara or Jennifer this morning?” Fraser asked him.

“Nope,” replied Ray with a shrug, “maybe they're staying in the warm, at least they've got a roof over their heads in that old warehouse, well, half a roof anyway.”

Fraser frowned. “I imagine you're right,” he said, “but I'd just like to go and talk to Clara, keep her informed about what we've arranged here.”

“OK Benny,” agreed Ray, wrapping his arms around tightly around himself as he felt the biting wind blow straight through the five layers of clothing he was wearing. He followed his friend down the alley towards the ruined building Clara and Jennifer had been living in.

Fraser called out for Clara, but got no response. Then Diefenbaker, who'd been slightly distracted by a discarded, half eaten hot dog lying in the snow, suddenly came running up to them, barking loudly towards the building. “Dief, what is it?” asked Fraser, instantly concerned. Dief continued to bark and began to claw at the makeshift door. Fraser and Ray looked at each other, extremely worried now and Fraser quickly pulled open the door. Nothing could have prepared them for the sight they were met with.

The first thing they noticed was Clara. She was sitting cross legged in the middle of the floor, shivering with cold. Then they noticed the knife in her hand and the blood on her clothes. “Clara?” Fraser half whispered, but she didn't respond, she just sat there staring straight ahead. Dief ran towards a pile of old packing crates and Fraser and Ray followed, terrified of what they might find. They were shocked to see the body of a man lying on the floor, his glassy eyes staring eerily up at them. There was blood everywhere. Fraser ran to him, pulling his glove off with his teeth as he did so. He knelt on the floor and placed two fingers on the man's neck to check for a pulse, but he knew he wouldn't find one. He glanced up at Ray, gave a tiny shake of his head and then gently closed the man's eyelids.

Ray crossed to Clara. “What happened?” he asked, sharply, “what did you do?”

“Ray,” Fraser called out and his friend spun back around to see Fraser lifting a gun off the floor with a gloved finger. “Unless I'm very much mistaken, this is the weapon used to kill all three victims.” Fraser carefully lifted the dead man's right hand and brought it up under his nose. He inhaled deeply and then moved his nose along to the cuff of the man's coat and repeated the analysis. “Blowback,” he said to Ray, who had screwed up his face in disgust, “more than twenty four hours old here on his coat.”

Ray turned back to Clara. She blinked deeply and looked straight into his eyes. “Someone had to take care of it,” she said coldly. “Everyone is safe now.”

“Where's Jennifer?” asked Fraser, walking over to join them and unbuttoning his heavy overcoat as he did so.

“I told her to run,” explained Clara as Fraser draped his coat around her shoulders and helped the woman to her feet.

Ray pulled out his handcuffs. He glanced at Fraser, sadly and sighed. “You're under arrest,” he began as they led her outside.

xXx

Fraser put his overcoat back on as he watched Clara being bundled into a Police car by two of the uniformed officers. “She felt she had no choice Ray,” he tried to explain to his friend. “I just hope the States Attorney will go with self defence.”

“Gonna be difficult Benny,” sighed Ray, “there were no witnesses. The jury could simply see it as vengeance killing for the other murders.”

Detective Jack Huey walked over to them with Esther Pearson. “Found this,” he said, holding up an evidence bag containing the man's wallet. “He was an accountant. I guess he just didn't like homeless people cluttering up the city.”

“I find that accountants are highly skilled at keeping their violent tendencies hidden,” said Fraser, seriously.

Ray looked at him incredulously. “Accountants?” he queried, frowning in disbelief.

“Yes Ray,” replied Fraser, solemnly and Ray decided that he would probe his friend further about that statement at a more appropriate time.

“She stabbed him twice,” explained Doctor Pearson, jabbing her finger into a slightly stunned Ray to demonstrate the locations of the two wounds, “he bled out. I'm guessing he's been dead about five hours.”

Ray drew a sharp breath. “Clara just sat there and watched him?”

“I believe she was in shock Ray,” suggested Fraser, “she probably didn't fully comprehend what she'd done initially.” Doctor Pearson nodded in agreement. “We have to find Jennifer,” said Fraser, seriously, “she's out there alone. She could potentially have witnessed a particularly grisly occurrence and now she'll be cold and frightened.”

“If she did witness the killing, then she could be Clara's only hope of avoiding a murder one charge,” Ray pointed out.

“Indeed,” agreed Fraser. He walked over to Dief who was busy searching for even the tiniest hint of Jennifer's trail. “Anything?” Fraser enquired, crouching down to his level. Dief yapped a response. “What do mean there's too much snow?” snapped Fraser, getting to his feet again, “you're an Arctic wolf for heavens sake!” As soon as the words had left his lips Fraser felt incredibly guilty. He got down on his knees again and took Dief's head in his hands. “I'm sorry,” he said quietly, “I know you're doing your best, it's just that I'm terribly worried about her now.” Dief understood.

“Come on Benny,” said Ray, slipping on some ice as he came over to them. “She's got five hours head start, she could be anywhere. Elaine's put her description out there, I guess we should stay local. She could be hiding out somewhere.”

“Right you are,” replied Fraser.

They walked the streets for almost an hour. Ray had lost all sensation in his fingers after about twenty minutes and Fraser had given him his thick leather RCMP issue gloves to wear which had helped a little. Ray had been reluctant to accept them to start with as he was concerned about Fraser's own fingers, but the Mountie had assured him that he could quite easily redirect extra body heat to his extremities for short lengths of time. It was a well practised technique in the Yukon, apparently. Every now and again, Dief would pick up a trail, but then he'd lose it again in the snow. The wolf wasn't even sure if it was Jennifer's trail half the time, but Fraser had more confidence in his lupine companion and assured him that he was giving them enough to conclude that they were at least going in the right general direction. Suddenly, Dief picked up a much stronger scent and starting barking madly at Fraser. “Good boy,” smiled Fraser and he and Ray ran off after the wolf. Dief led them down a side street and through a gap in a wire fence and Fraser's heart sank as he spotted the tiny bundle, slumped next to a dumpster, slowly getting covered with snow. “Jennifer,” he half whispered running over to her.

“Oh hell no,” Ray added under his breath as he followed.

Fraser quickly rolled Jennifer onto her back and felt her neck for a pulse. It took him a moment before he found it, her heartbeat was so weak. “She's alive,” he announced, breathing a tiny sigh of relief, but he knew her situation was serious. “Jennifer,” he said, desperate for her to respond, “Jennifer, it's Benton,” but her lips were blue and her body was limp. Fraser immediately unfastened the large brass buttons of his overcoat, pulled it off and wrapped it around her. “Ray, she needs your coat,” said Fraser, picking the young woman up off the floor and pulling her onto his lap so that he could wrap his arms around her. Ray didn't respond. “Ray?” said Fraser, urgently, rubbing his hands over her body in an attempt to increase the flow of blood, “quickly, she's freezing,” but then he saw the look in his friend's eyes and realised the poignancy of the request. The memories attached to the last time Ray had given his coat to a young homeless person were still so raw that Fraser wasn't sure what else he could say, but then Ray blinked deeply and took off his coat. He got to his knees and wrapped it around Jennifer and then he took off his knitted hat and placed it on her head, pulling it down over her ears. Fraser looked at his friend and nodded empathetically. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Come on,” said Ray, lifting Jennifer out of Fraser's arms, allowing his friend to stand up. “Let's get her to the hospital.”

xXx

Ray pushed open the door of Fraser's apartment and Fraser carried a sleeping Jennifer in and carefully laid her on his bed. Jennifer stirred slightly and opened her eyes. “Sshhh,” Fraser soothed as he brushed the hair from her face, “go back to sleep.”

“Where am I?” she asked in a croaky whisper.

“This is where I live,” explained Fraser, softly, “the doctor said you must rest and build up your strength, so you can stay with me for as long as you need to.” He pulled the blankets up over her and she smiled. “Now, close your eyes,” continued Fraser, “Ray and I will be right over there if you need anything.” Jennifer willingly complied with his request.

“I must say Ray, I'm surprised that the doctor was so keen to send her home,” Fraser said in a low voice as he filled the kettle from the tap, “I would have felt more comfortable if she'd been kept in the hospital overnight for observation.”

“Benny, you heard him, he said we found her in time,” replied Ray, quietly, sitting himself in one of Fraser's wooden chairs, “she's OK and anyway, I think he was even more keen to let her go once he found out she had no insurance.”

“Ray, I offered to pay her bill,” Fraser said, puzzled, “in fact, it was very generous of him to waive the charges for the emergency treatment.”

“Yeah real generous,” Ray agreed sarcastically, “especially when I offered to check if he had any outstanding parking tickets.”

“That was very thoughtful of you,” agreed Fraser, earnestly, “I imagine he would feel terribly guilty if he discovered there were any he'd accidentally forgotten to pay.”

Ray laughed. “Yeah Benny, I bet he'd have sleepless nights over it,” he said, shaking his head at his friend's naivety.

Fraser nodded and carried two cups of tea over to the table. Fraser glanced over towards the bed and was pleased to see that Jennifer had gone back to sleep. He sat down opposite Ray. “You think we should call her mother, don't you,” he said with a sigh.

Ray shrugged. “Look Benny, I need to get her statement otherwise Carla goes down for first degree murder,” he replied, sipping at his tea. “You've signed that Emergency Care form now, that's good enough for me.”

“It still has to be approved by a judge in the morning,” Fraser pointed out.

“Fraser, you're a Mountie,” replied Ray, “no judge is going to kick it out, it's only for seven days.”

“I hope you're right,” sighed Fraser, “I believe that contacting her mother at this juncture could prompt her into running away again,” explained Fraser, “she's confused, she's frightened and she's suffered a traumatic experience. We need to reassure her that testifying, if it should come to that, is not going to have any bearing on her choices regarding her future.”

“OK,” agreed Ray, “I'll leave it to you to decide how we play this. I'll call Louise, give her an update.”

“Are you and Ms St Laurent currently on speaking terms Ray?” asked Fraser, gingerly as he drank his tea.

“Yeah Benny,” grinned Ray, “we've been pretty tight these past few weeks, thanks to that sweat lodge you had in here.”

Fraser frowned. “I believe that you may have misunderstood the purpose of the sweat lodge Ray.”

“Oh no Benny,” Ray was still grinning, “me and Louise, we understood completely.” He got up and picked up his coat. “I should go, thanks for the tea, y'know I could really get used to drinking that stuff. I'll be back in the morning.”

Fraser followed his friend to the door. “Thank you for everything today,” he said.

“Hey, no problem Benny,” Ray smiled.

xXx

Later that night, Fraser was struggling to sleep. There were so many things going round in his mind, but also Jennifer was very restless. He'd covered her with another blanket about an hour ago and she appeared to settle, but now she was mumbling something incomprehensible in her sleep. Fraser got up out of his sleeping bag on the floor and went to the kitchen with Diefenbaker following at his heels. He filled Dief's bowl with water and the wolf eagerly lapped it up as Fraser poured himself a glass of water. He quickly drank it down in one go then glanced over at Jennifer who appeared to be becoming more and more distressed so he filled a clean glass with water and carried back across to her. He placed the glass down on his father's old trunk that stood beside his bed and then he carefully sat himself on the edge of the bed. “Jennifer,” he called, gently putting a hand on her arm. “Wake up, I think you're dreaming.”

“Mom?” Jennifer whimpered. “Help me Mommy.”

“Jennifer, it's alright, it's me, it's Benton,” continued Fraser. At that, Jennifer's eyes suddenly snapped open and she drew a sharp breath. “Sshhh,” Fraser tried to soothe her, but she was disorientated and tried to scrabble across the bed to get away from him. Instantly Diefenbaker ran around to the other side of the bed to stop her falling onto the floor. She took one look at Dief and that seemed to be enough to wake her up.

Jennifer slowly crawled back across the bed and into Fraser's arms, taking him a little by surprise. “So...so cold,” she whispered in a shaky voice.

“I'll find you another blanket,” replied Fraser, trying to release himself from her grasp.

“No!” she cried, clinging onto him even more tightly, “out there...I was so cold...I just ran and ran...but then I couldn't run any more...”

Fraser realised that she was talking about the aftermath of the stabbing. “Do you want to talk about it now?” he asked her. He wasn't sure if this was the best time as she was still exhausted.

Jennifer shook her head, “I...I can't...” she replied, her breath coming in gasps.

“It's alright,” Fraser soothed. He reached over and passed her the glass of water and as Jennifer sipped it, she seemed to relax a little. Fraser smiled and took the glass from her. “Try to go back to sleep, we can talk in the morning,” he said as he carefully laid her head back on the pillow and pulled the bed covers up over her. “I'm right here,” he said, reassuringly and glanced at Dief who was looking worried.

Eventually, as Fraser watched over her, Jennifer drifted back off to sleep and Fraser too finally managed a few hours rest, taking a small amount of comfort in the fact that she had at least started to talk.

xXx

The next morning, Fraser was up and about a little later than usual. He had already used Mr Mustaffi's telephone to call the Consulate and explain the situation to Inspector Thatcher. His superior officer wasn't best pleased with him, but she understood that he was caring for someone who was not only a witness, but who was also a minor.

Fraser began making breakfast as he noticed Jennifer stirring. “Good morning,” he called across to her, “do you like oatmeal?”

"Oh yes please," replied the young woman in a croaky voice, slowly getting out of bed. "Let me help you," she added.

"Not at all," replied Fraser with a smile, "you need to take it easy."

Jennifer walked over to the table and sat down. She was wearing a pair of Ray's old sweatpants and one of Fraser's spare undershirts as those were the only things they'd had in the car for her to change into at the hospital yesterday. The trousers were far too long for her and Fraser's shirt looked more like a dress. Fraser carried over a steaming bowl of oatmeal and a cup of tea. "Thank you," she whispered and blew gently on a spoonful of oatmeal.

"How do you feel this morning?" He asked her, "you had a close call yesterday."

"I'm OK," she replied, not very convincingly. Fraser nodded and they sat in virtual silence as they ate their breakfast. Fraser didn't want to force her into talking until she felt ready.

Just then there was a knock at the door. "Come in Ray," Fraser called out and Ray pushed the door open with one hand, marvelling once again at his friend's uncanny ability to know it was him by the sound of his footsteps.

"Hi," he said, "Frannie thought you might like these," he said, dumping a huge pile of clothes on the table in front of Jennifer.

Jennifer smiled. "Oh thank you so much, your sister's very kind," she said, rummaging through the pile.

"Bathroom's just down the hall," explained Fraser, "why don't you go and freshen up and get changed."

"OK," she replied and went out to the bathroom carrying some of Francesca's clothes.

As the door closed behind her, Ray turned to Fraser. “I spoke to Louise,” he explained, “and she said she needs Jennifer's statement before she even thinks about reducing the charge. Do you think she's ready to tell us what happened?”

Fraser drew a deep breath. “I think so,” he replied, “although I believe that she will find it traumatic. She had a restless night unfortunately. At one stage she was calling out for her mother.”

“Jeez,” sighed Ray, “poor kid.” Fraser nodded in agreement and the two friends spent some time discussing the situation with Clara. “She's not saying much,” Ray explained. “It's obvious she's trying to protect Jennifer.”

“I see,” replied Fraser, “is Clara aware that we located Jennifer?”

“Yeah,” replied Ray, “I told her, I thought it might help, but I don't think she cares if she goes down for this Benny. Maybe she figures she could get used to the free food and a roof over her head.”

“Ray!” exclaimed Fraser, disappointed that his friend seemed to have returned to his cynical views.

“I didn't mean it like that,” Ray tried to explain, but he was interrupted by Jennifer returning from the bathroom wearing a glittery top and a pair of jeans.

“What do you think?” she asked, giving them a quick twirl

Fraser smiled. He'd only ever seen her in dirty old clothes before now, but she could see that simply being able to put on some decent clothes had brought some sparkle back into her eyes, the same sparkle that he saw when she was singing.

“Hey, I'll tell you this,” grinned Ray, “you sure look better in that gear than my sister.”

“I believe that the clothes are the correct size for Jennifer,” Fraser pointed out. “Francesca does, on occasion, purchase apparel that is a size or two too small for her.”

Ray laughed. “Yeah, you could be right,” he said, “maybe you should tell her Fraser?”

Fraser looked at his friend and nodded. “That's an excellent idea,” he replied, “I'm sure she would be grateful to me for pointing it out so she can avoid the same mistake in the future.”

“She'll probably slap you in the face,” suggested Ray with a grin.

“Why?” asked Fraser innocently and Jennifer laughed. Fraser had no idea what they were laughing about but he and Ray were both pleased to see her laughing like that. Ray knew that what he was about to say would soon wipe the smile from her face.

“Hey Jennifer, have a seat,” began Ray, pulling out his notebook and tape recorder from his pocket. “Look, I know this ain't gonna be easy for you, but I need you to tell me exactly what happened yesterday.”

Jennifer suddenly looked frightened again and she looked to Fraser for support. “We need to know all of the details,” Fraser explained, “Clara is currently being held on a charge of first degree murder, your evidence could change that.” Jennifer nodded.

“You do understand how serious Clara's situation is don't you?” Ray asked her.

“Of course I do,” replied Jennifer, slightly annoyed with Ray for talking to her like a child.

“Start from the beginning,” Fraser urged as Jennifer sat in a chair. “In your own time,” he added with a supportive smile.

Jennifer took a deep breath and began to tell them what had happened. She'd enjoyed a meal with Clara and Tony made with leftovers from the Chinese restaurant around the corner. Tony was friendly with one of the kitchen hands and he was often able to obtain some meat and vegetables that they could make into a stew or something similar. Tony had left and returned to his favourite sleeping place behind a nightclub and Jennifer and Clara had settled for the night, deciding to leave clearing up after the meal until morning because they were so tired. After a couple of hours, Jennifer had woken up because she was cold. The fire had almost gone out and she tried to get it going again, but the noise had woken Clara. “She went out to look for more some more wood for the fire,” explained Jennifer. “We usually use old packing crates, they burn quite well.”

“Have you been staying with Clara ever since, um, you came here?” Fraser asked, deftly avoiding referring to her running away from home.

“Yes,” replied Jennifer with a small smile, “I didn't know where to go to get food or anything like that and she found me and said she'd help me. She's been living like that for years.”

“So what happened next?” prompted Ray, eager to get information about the killing.

“The man came in,” replied Jennifer, her face grave again, “he just walked in and I didn't know who he was, but then he took out his gun and I knew...I knew it was the man who'd...” her voice trailed off as she tried to compose herself.

“Did he aim his weapon at you?” asked Fraser.

Jennifer nodded. “I was so scared,” she whispered. “I couldn't scream or anything, I just stood there. He was so calm and cold, it was so creepy, like he wasn't even real. Then he told me to get down on my knees and put my hands behind my back and...and he put the gun right here.” She pointed with her trembling index finger right between her eyes and fought back tears. “It felt cold...I'll never forget how it felt on my forehead...” and Jennifer couldn't control her emotions any more.

“It's alright,” Fraser reassured her, “you're safe now, nobody's going to hurt you.” He put his arm around her and tried to soothe her as she wept on his shoulder.

Ray glanced at Fraser, they'd assumed that the murders had been carried out execution style and it appeared that they were right. It must have been a horrendous experience for the young woman. “Where was Clara now?” asked Ray.

“She came back right then,” replied Jennifer, her voice shaky, “I think the man was just about to...he was...his finger was on the trigger...”

“Sshhh,” soothed Fraser, “it's alright. Here, drink this.” He handed her a glass of water and she was shaking so much as she took it from him that some of the water splashed out of the glass.

“And she had a knife?” Ray prompted, but Jennifer shook her head.

“No, the knife was on the floor with our cooking things,” she explained. “She yelled at him and the man spun round and aimed his gun at her and made her kneel next to me. Then...then he put the gun against her head and then...I don't know what happened next? It happened so fast...um, he was lying there on the floor and there was so much blood...I just screamed and Clara told me to go. She just said 'Run Jenny' and I looked at her and she was holding the knife and I was...I was so scared...so scared...” and she began to sob again. “I had no idea where I was going, I just ran and then I got so tired and I was so cold...I don't know what happened next?”

“You lost consciousness,” Fraser explained, “and then we found you some time later.” Jennifer smiled at him through her tears.

“OK Jennifer, listen, this is important,” began Ray, sharply, as he scanned down the notes he'd just scribbled, “when did Clara pick up the knife?”

“I don't know,” she sobbed.

“Jennifer, it's alright,” said Fraser softly, frowning at Ray, “look at me for a minute, look at me.” Jennifer wiped her eyes and lifted her head from Fraser's shoulder. “Try to think back, close your eyes if it helps and go through the sequence of events. Did Clara have the knife in her hand before the man put the gun to her forehead.”

Jennifer closed her eyes tightly and gripped Fraser's hand as she replayed the events in her mind. She opened her eyes and shook her head. “No,” she said, “it was still on the floor. Clara got on her knees and put her hands behind her back, the same as me, just like he told her to, then...then he pointed his gun at her and then suddenly she lunged sideways and picked up the knife and then...oh god, it was horrible.”

“It's OK, that's all we need,” Ray smiled at her as he clicked off the tape recorder and put away his notebook. “You've done great.” He looked at Fraser and Fraser nodded. “Self defence,” declared Ray.

“Indeed,” agreed Fraser, “she also risked her own life to protect Jennifer.”

“So Clara's going to be OK?” asked Jennifer, her voice still trembling.

“I've got a very good friend at the States Attorney's Office,” Ray explained, “I'm pretty sure the charges can be dropped.” He got up from the table and picked up his coat. “I'm gonna take this back to the station and get your statement prepared, then I'll bring it back round for you to sign later.”

“Thank you,” whispered Jennifer and Fraser squeezed her hand before getting up and following Ray to the door, but before Ray could leave, his phone rang.

“Yeah, Vecchio,” said Ray. “Oh hi Elaine,” he listened for a moment, “OK, got it, great, I'll tell him. Thanks Elaine.” He clicked off his phone and Fraser looked slightly puzzled.

“Elaine says your Emergency Care order came through, but you gotta go down to the courthouse and sign some other form in the presence of the judge,” Ray explained.

“Oh dear,” replied Fraser, “I don't want to leave Jennifer here on her own.” He lowered his voice now, “I am a little concerned about her.”

“She's doing great Benny,” smiled Ray, supportively, “she's been through hell, anyone would be freaking out if they'd had to go through that. I don't think she's gonna run away from you if that's what you're thinking.” Ray gave him a friendly slap on the back.

Fraser nodded. “You're right, of course,” he said.

“I'll call Frannie, maybe she can come over and sit with her for a while,” suggested Ray. “An hour with my sister and she'll be begging you to take her home.”

“Ray,” exclaimed Fraser, “please don't joke about this.”

“I'm sorry Benny,” replied Ray, “I know you're worried about her.”

“Thank you kindly Ray,” nodded Fraser.

xXx

As Fraser walked back along the hall towards his apartment, carrying his copy of the Emergency Care Order under his arm, he was slightly puzzled by the sound of giggling coming from inside. He glanced at Dief, but as his wolf didn't seem unduly perturbed, he assumed that nothing suspicious was going on. He slowly opened the door and was almost knocked off his feet by Jennifer and Francesca as they ran over to him, grabbed him by the arms and pulled him inside. Fraser stood and looked around him, completely stunned. “Do you like it?” asked Jennifer, expectantly.

“Er...” Fraser was speechless. His previously barren apartment was now filled with Christmas decorations. There was a beautifully decorated tree in the corner and paper chains hanging from the ceiling. There were lights and glittery things all over the place and Fraser was slightly overwhelmed. “Where did you get all these from?” he asked, watching Dief bounce around playing with what the wolf had immediately assumed were his shiny new toys.

“I took Jenny shopping,” smiled Francesca, “we figured your place needed some Christmas cheer, what do you think?”

Fraser began to relax into the situation a little, particularly when a cursory glance around confirmed that there were no sprigs of mistletoe hidden anywhere. He smiled at the two excited women. “I've never seen the need to decorate my home for the festive season before?” he said with a shrug, “but I must say, it's very effective.”

“That's so sad Frase,” replied Francesca, “you can't move in our house for decorations at this time of year, we love Christmas! Well, I love Christmas anyway, my grumpy brother has other ideas.”

“I'm sure he has his reasons,” replied Fraser, seriously. He wasn't sure how much Ray's family knew about what had happened with the young homeless boy four years ago. Francesca looked puzzled and was about to ask him what he meant, but Jennifer dragged him over to look at the nativity scene they'd created on his father's old trunk. Fraser bent down to look at it closely.

“I think we should have bought a bigger stable,” laughed Jennifer, “I only just managed to squeeze in all the shepherds.” Fraser's smile suddenly turned to a puzzled frown and he glanced up at Jennifer who giggled and spoke to Francesca. “I think he noticed it,” she said.

Francesca came over to join them. “Y'see Frase, the store only had two wise men left, seeing as how it's Christmas Eve tomorrow, so we had to make up the numbers with...um, a different character.”

Fraser stood up to face them. “Is that...is that a Mountie?” he asked, incredulously.

“Yeah,” replied Francesca, pawing at his arm and looking deep into his blue eyes, “the wisest man I ever met is a Mountie, y'see,” she said, as Fraser felt the colour in his cheeks deepen, “wise...and brave...and strong...” Francesca's voice became more sensual with every word.

Fraser cleared his throat and tugged at the starched collar of his red tunic with one finger. “I...I see...” he spluttered. “Well, Francesca, um, thank you for visiting and thank you kindly for doing all of this.” As he spoke he walked a protesting Francesca towards the door. “How much do I owe you for the decorations?” he asked, taking his hat from his head and pulling out a folded bundle of notes.

“Put your money away Frase,” replied Francesca with a wave of her hand.

“That's very kind of you, but I insist,” continued Fraser, holding out the money.

“No, I couldn't,” smiled Francesca, but then she stood on her tiptoes and whispered into a stunned Fraser's ear. “But I'll accept payment in kind.” Fraser's eyes widened and he froze to the spot as Francesca kissed him on the cheek. “Bye Frase, I'm coming back tomorrow with a dress for Jenny to wear, but I guess I'll see you both at choir practice tonight?”

“Goodbye Francesca and thank you,” Jennifer called out as she disappeared down the hall.

Fraser quickly closed the door and spun round to face Jennifer who had a huge smile on her face. “I think she likes you,” she said.

“What?” replied a very flustered Fraser, “Francesca? Er, well, of course...I mean we're friends...she's Ray's sister...”

“It's OK,” grinned Jennifer. “I get it.”

xXx

Later that evening, Jennifer was sitting at the table, reading through the final version of her statement. She looked Ray and nodded and Ray handed her a pen. He flipped open a file on the table in front of him. “Ronald Sweetman, forty eight, junior accountant at Katz and Brown, lived alone downtown. Seems he reported five burglaries at his place in the last twelve months and one suspect was caught, a homeless guy, but he was never charged, not enough evidence.” Ray read out the details of the dead man from the file.

“So Mr Sweetman decided to enact a programme of preventative action,” sighed Fraser sadly.

As Jennifer signed her statement she took a deep breath. “So what happens to Clara now?” she asked him.

“She's free to go, no jury's gonna convict her of murder so the charges are dropped,” explained Ray, palming Diefenbaker a biscuit under the table, “I think Elaine found her a place in a hostel, but she's already turned it down.”

Jennifer nodded. “She'd hate it in one of those places,” she said, handing the paper and pen back to Ray who put them both in his jacket pocket.

“I believe you're right,” nodded Fraser. “What about you? There are many similar places for young people to go,” he paused for a moment and then added, “or you could go home?”

“No!” replied Jennifer, getting angrily to her feet, “I already told you, I don't want to go home.”

“At least call your Mom, let her know you're OK,” suggested Ray.

“No, you don't understand,” Jennifer was close to tears now. “I've made my decision, my Mom is better off without me. She can take care of my brother properly now, she's probably forgotten about me already.” Jennifer ran to the bed and threw herself face down onto it, sobbing into the pillow.

Ray and Fraser both followed her, feeling guilty about upsetting her, although they both knew that she needed to have this conversation sooner rather than later. They sat on either side of the bed and Fraser gently put his hand on her back. “I think you know that's not true,” he said softly.

“Y'know Jenny,” began Ray, “sometimes we do something because it feels right at the time, but then later you realise that it wasn't right at all, in fact it was very wrong. It's hard, but there's no shame in admitting that you you've made a big mistake.” He caught Fraser's eye as he spoke. “I was married once,” he continued and Jennifer rolled over onto her back to look at him with surprise. “I thought that was right, but it wasn't. It wasn't right for either of us and I guess it took us a bit too long to realise that. Eventually I had to swallow my pride...we both had to and admit to ourselves that we'd made a mistake. That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but afterwards, when everything had calmed down, we...” Ray trailed off.

“What Ray is trying to say is that if you do decide to return home, it may be difficult to start with, but in the long term maybe you'll come to realise that home is the best place for you after all,” Fraser took over the conversation as he could see that Ray had become absorbed in his own thoughts, “your mother may not understand your reasons for leaving at first, but if you talk to her about it, perhaps she might see how difficult the situation with your brother had become for you.”

Jenny sat up and clutched her legs tightly in front of her, resting her chin on her knees. “Maybe,” she admitted, quietly. “Not today though, I'm not ready. I want to think about it.”

“I understand,” replied Fraser with a supportive smile. “You take as long as you need.” Jennifer nodded appreciatively. “I should take a look at your hand,” he said, deliberately changing the subject, “I imagine a much lighter dressing would be sufficient now. Would you like some tea first?” he asked, glancing at his watch. “We still have time before we need to be at the church for our rehearsal.”

Jennifer leapt off the bed. “Let me make the tea,” she insisted, darting off to the kitchen area with Dief following at her heels.

Fraser watched her go, encouraged by what he saw as a small amount of progress. At least she was considering her options now. He turned his attentions to Ray, who was still sat glumly on the other side of the bed. “Ray?” he said quietly.

Ray snapped his mind back to the present and managed half a smile. “Sorry Benny,” he said, “I didn't expect I'd be thinking about me and Ange today.”

“I've never heard you talk about your marriage,” Fraser said, gingerly. The first time Fraser had learnt Ray was divorced, Ray had made it quite clear that it was not a topic for conversation and Fraser had respected that, but now he could really see how difficult that time had been for his friend and he was a little taken aback.

“Yeah well, that's because I never have,” replied Ray with a shrug.

“Perhaps you should?” suggested Fraser. He paused for a moment to let Ray think about that advice. “I'd be happy to listen, if you require a sounding plank.”

Ray laughed. “I think you mean a sounding board Benny,” he said.

“Ah, yes of course,” mumbled Fraser, “my mistake, I do apologise.”

“I knew what you meant,” grinned Ray, “besides, in your case maybe plank is more appropriate?”

Fraser frowned. “Should I be insulted?” he asked.

“Nah Benny,” Ray was still grinning and he gave his friend a playful slap on the back, thankful for the humorous distraction from his thoughts, “it's a term of affection.” Then his face became serious again. “Thanks Benny,” he said, “maybe one day huh.”

Fraser nodded. “Understood.”

xXx

“I'm so nervous,” Jennifer scratched at the palm of her hand as she lay in bed that night.

“Don't scratch it,” Fraser warned her, taking each of her hands in his and holding them apart. “That dressing will allow air to get to it to aid the healing process. If you continue to agitate the wound...”

“I know, I'm sorry,” replied Jennifer. “I can't stop thinking about our concert. It's tomorrow night. What if I screw up?”

Fraser smiled and released her hands. “You'll be fine,” he assured her. “Our rehearsal this evening went particularly well. Susan appeared pleased with all of us. Relax and enjoy it.”

“Are you relaxed about it?” Jennifer enquired.

“No, I'm terrified,” admitted Fraser shaking his head and Jennifer laughed.

“Then I guess we can be terrified together,” she said with a grin and pulled the blankets up over herself. Fraser went out to the bathroom to get himself ready for bed and Jennifer lay there watching the twinkling lights on Fraser's brand new Christmas tree. She thought about the things that Ray had said to her earlier, about how hard it was to admit to yourself that you've made a mistake and she knew he was probably right. A few months ago, she'd decided that leaving home was the best thing for everyone, but she hadn't realised how difficult it would be. She hadn't intended to be homeless forever, but as the weeks had turned into months she'd realised that the life she had chosen wasn't going to be easy at all. Diefenbaker jumped up onto the bed and licked her face and Jennifer managed a small smile at him, but then her face crumbled into tears. The more she thought about her mother, the more she realised that perhaps if she'd stayed, maybe they could have worked together to help her brother with his problems. When she'd seen him lying in that hospital bed after he'd almost killed himself with stupidity, she'd been so scared of what he might do next and what his actions were doing to their mother, that she felt like she couldn't handle it any more. She pulled a tissue from the box Fraser had placed by the side of the bed.

Fraser returned wearing his red longjohns and his hat to find Jennifer weeping into Dief's neck. “Jennifer,” he sighed, throwing his hat on the side, running over to the bed and pulling her into his arms. “It's going to be alright.”

“I thought...I thought if I ran away then I wouldn't have to deal with any of it,” she sobbed. “I've been so selfish...what must my Mom be going through? I've just made everything worse.”

“Sshhh,” Fraser soothed, “you can't think like that. You have the right to make your own decisions. That's not selfish.” Jennifer didn't believe him and she was becoming more and more upset. Fraser was worried that she had become so overwhelmed in such a short space of time and he knew that she needed to refocus her mind before it all became to much for her. He carefully peeled her arms from around his neck and she looked puzzled as he crossed to the corner of the room. Her lips twitched into a tiny smile as he returned with his guitar and sat himself back down on the edge of the bed. Fraser began to strum some chords and started to sing in a soft voice. He chose one of the Christmas carols that they had been singing with the choir so that Jennifer would recognise it and he willed her to join in. Finally, after two verses, Jennifer quietly started to sing with him, her voice gaining strength with every word. They sang together for a while, a few more Christmas songs and some other songs too and Fraser marvelled at the adaptability of her beautiful voice. He was always slightly amazed at the power of music and singing to bring peace and clarity to a person's mind, although he was very grateful that it did as he'd used it on so many occasions himself when his own dark thoughts had threatened to engulf him.

Eventually, Jennifer yawned midway through a chorus and they both stopped singing and laughed. “We should save our voices,” she smiled at him. “We've got a big day tomorrow.”

Fraser nodded and put down his guitar. “Right you are,” he said and went to get up from the bed.

“Benton,” Jennifer called out, stopping him. “Can you sing me one more song please?” she asked.

Fraser looked puzzled as he picked up his guitar again. “Of course,” he said, “what would you like me to sing?”

Jennifer shrugged and snuggled down under the blankets. “You choose,” she smiled, “I just don't want to lay here in silence tonight, I don't want to start thinking about things again, otherwise I'll never get to sleep.”

“Oh I see,” smiled Fraser, understandingly. He thought for a moment and then began to play a gentle melody. Jennifer closed her eyes as the music washed over her. When Fraser began to sing, she realised that it was in a language she didn't understand, but the sounds that the words made as they slipped from his tongue were so wonderful that at once her mind drifted into the most beautiful place and sleep quickly came.

When she awoke the next morning she had a vague recollection of stirring once in the night and calling out for her mother. She'd woken up in a panic in the dark after a muddled dream had forced its way into her mind and she'd felt lost and alone, but then she remembered that Fraser had sat with her and calmed her again with another song. Today was Christmas Eve and their concert was this evening. She was nervous about her performance, but she also knew that she had to make a very important decision and she had a feeling that she already knew what her decision was going to be.

xXx

Francesca breezed into Fraser's apartment with two dress carriers over her shoulder and a huge make up case in her other hand. "My brother's on his way with the tux Frase," she assured him as she threw her things onto his bed. Then she turned and exhaled slowly. "I think you're going to look amazing in a tuxedo," she breathed.

Fraser's face turned a deep shade of red and he cleared his throat with embarrassment. “Good afternoon Francesca,” he said, “I'm about to go and take a bath, if you ladies will excuse me.” He picked up a towel and headed towards the door.

“Do you need me to wash your back for you?” Francesca called out to him and he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Er, no,” he replied, without turning round, “thank you kindly Francesca.”

Francesca sighed as she watched him walk out of the door. Then she turned to Jennifer. “Right, I've brought two dresses for you to try on,” she explained, unzipping the first of the carriers. “You get first choice and I'll wear the other one.”

“This is so kind of you,” replied Jennifer.

“We need to hurry,” continued Francesca, “I want to fix your hair and make up too and we've only got four hours.” Jennifer laughed as she assumed that Francesca was joking about the lack of time, but she soon realised that she was being serious and Jennifer was suddenly slightly worried about what Francesca had planned for her. “Hey, don't look so nervous,” urged Francesca, “you need to look your best, you're going to be a star tonight.” Jennifer smiled. “Besides,” added Francesca, “you're going to be standing next to Benton Fraser so anything less than total perfection will look completely out of place.”

While Fraser enjoyed an unnecessarily long soak in the bath, Francesca and Jennifer tried on dresses and and started on their hair and make up, giggling as they did so. Francesca was the baby of her family so she'd never had a little sister, but the fun she was having with Jennifer was making her realise what she had missed out on. Fraser knocked on his own front door and called out. “Are you decent?”

“Yes,” replied Jennifer with a laugh. Francesca sighed. In her head she wanted to be anything but decent with the Mountie, but she'd tried that once before and failed, although she'd made a promise to herself that she'd never give up.

Fraser gingerly poked his head round the door and when he was satisfied that Jennifer and Francesca were both wearing towelling robes he stepped into his apartment, completely oblivious to the fact the he himself was wearing nothing but a towel and his hat, as he always did when he got out of the bath. Francesca nearly fainted at the sight of his naked broad shoulders and his smooth chest. He was initially concerned as her breathing became shallow and rapid, but then he followed her eyeline and immediately realised his mistake. “Oh dear,” he said, slowly backing away from her towards his wardrobe. “I'll just, er, that is...” he mumbled, pointing towards the wardrobe door, before opening it. “I'll be in my closet,” he said stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

“Oh,” sighed Francesca and Jennifer giggled to herself.

Just then Ray knocked at the door. “Benny, it's me, I've got my tuxedo here for you,” he called out.

Francesca opened the door, grumpily. “He's in his closet,” she snapped at him.

Ray smiled a broad smile. “Of course he is,” he replied and walked over to the wardrobe. He knocked once on the door.

Fraser opened the door, stuck out one hand and took the suit carrier from Ray. “Thank you kindly,” he muttered, closing the door again.

Ray turned back towards his sister and Jennifer, still grinning and almost instantly Fraser appeared looking immaculate in his tuxedo and bow tie. Francesca drew a sharp breath and Jennifer smiled at him, she could tell how uncomfortable he was. Ray was impressed, although not remotely surprised, at how good his best friend looked wearing that tux, the same tux that Ray had worn on countless occasions and never even come close to looking that good. Ray glanced back at his sister who was dangerously close to embarrassing herself. “Hurry up Frannie,” he said, “we don't wanna be late.”

“We're nearly ready bro,” replied Francesca, “we've just got to get changed. We've still got loads of time.”

Fraser and Ray sat facing out of the window while Francesca and Jennifer changed into their ballgowns. “Dief,” Fraser warned his wolf, in a low voice and the animal attempted to sneak a peek at the girls changing.

Ray looked down at Diefenbaker. “Hey, that's my sister,” he hissed and Dief whined and yapped.

“Dief!” exclaimed Fraser, glaring at his wolf. “I do apologise Ray,” he added, “I can assure you that I will not allow him to use that sort of language again, particularly in mixed company.”

“Yeah, um, OK Benny,” replied a slightly puzzled Ray, but before he could quiz Fraser further about wolf swear words, Jennifer called out to them.

“You can turn round now,” she said and Fraser and Ray stood up and turned to face the girls. Now it was their turn to gasp. Jennifer was wearing a lavender chiffon and tulle gown with little cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. She had a matching flower in her hair which was piled up behind her head and Francesca had done her make up beautifully. Francesca was wearing a dark red dress with a matching lace bolero jacket and was wearing far too much make up for Ray's liking, but she still looked great.

“Hey,” smiled Ray, “you look amazing Jenny,” he said and Jennifer blushed. Francesca scowled at him and Ray sighed. “You don't look so bad yourself Frannie, I guess...in this light,” he tried not to sound too complimentary.

“Frase?” prompted Francesca.

Fraser smiled at them both. “You both look very, um, very...that is, I mean.”

Ray grinned. “I think he's impressed,” he said saving his friend from further embarrassment.

They spent a short time adding finishing touches to their outfits and making sure they had everything they needed. Ray felt a little under dressed in an Armani suit, but then he wasn't performing tonight, he reminded himself. Just as they were about to leave, Fraser had a quiet word with Ray and asked him to take his sister out to the car to wait for him and Jennifer. Ray agreed, although he had no idea what was going on. “Jennifer,” Fraser called out to her, just as she was heading out of the door.

Jennifer turned back. “What is it?” she asked, concerned that something was wrong.

“Nothing's wrong,” he assured her, “I'm sorry, I didn't meant to worry you. I just wanted to tell you that you look beautiful tonight and you're going to knock everyone's socks off with your singing voice.”

Jennifer blushed. “Thank you,” she whispered, laughing at his turn of phrase.

He reached into his pocket a brought out a small wooden box. “Um, I was wondering if you'd do me the honour of wearing this tonight?” he asked her, producing a necklace with an intricately carved wooden bead from the box and holding it in the air.

Jennifer gasped. “Oh Benton, it's beautiful.”

“It belonged to my mother,” he explained, fastening it around her neck. “unfortunately she passed away when I was very young, but I do remember her wearing this.”

Jennifer clutched the bead in her hand. “I can't wear this,” she said, looking into his eyes.

“I want you to,” insisted Fraser, “I will feel...comforted.” It was actually very difficult for him to see his mother's necklace around someone else's neck, but he was hoping that wearing it would force her to think about her own mother. Jennifer still had a chance to grow up with her mother, something that Fraser had had snatched away from him when he was six. He didn't want to see her waste that chance.

The poignancy was not lost on her. “I'm sorry about your mom,” she said, quietly.

Fraser smiled. “That's quite alright,” he said. He held out his elbow for her to hold and she wrapped her hands around his arm. “Shall we?” he said and they walked out to the car.

xXx

Susan had decided to make some last minute changes to the running order and some tiny changes to the final chorus of their finale piece. Jennifer calmly took the information in, but Fraser was starting to get flustered. Susan apologised. “I was laying awake last night thinking about it,” she said, “and I really think that you can take your part down a major third for two bars and Jennifer will carry the harmony over the top.”

“Just two bars,” Fraser confirmed, scribbling the changes on his sheet music.

“Yes,” agreed Susan, “shall we just try it quickly with the piano?”

“Please,” smiled Fraser, glancing at Ray who had already taken his seat with Dief, even though there was almost an hour to go before the start of the concert. Ray could tell his friend was starting to get nervous and he gave him a double thumbs up sign. Fraser nodded appreciatively and followed Susan to the piano which had been adorned with holly and candles.

“Where's Jennifer?” asked Susan, sitting down on the piano stool.

Fraser spun round on the spot where he stood. He'd been uncharacteristically distracted by his concerns about the concert and he hadn't noticed that Jennifer had disappeared. “I don't know?” he replied, waving at Ray to join them. “Ray, did you happen to notice where Jennifer went?” Fraser asked him.

“Nope, sorry Benny,” replied Ray, “maybe she went to the bathroom? Do you want me to go look for her?”

“Thank you kindly Ray,” replied Fraser and he went back to rehearsing his solo with Susan.

Ray walked out to the bathroom and knocked on the door. “Jenny? Are you in there?” he called out. There was no reply and so he went to try the back room. He slowly pushed open the door and sighed as he saw her sitting in a chair, dabbing her eyes with a corner of a tissue. “Jenny, are you OK?” he asked. Stupid question Vecchio, he thought to himself, considering she was crying.

“Ray!” she jumped at the sound of his voice. “I'm trying not to ruin my make up,” she sniffed.

Ray smiled and took the tissue from her. “You look fine,” he said, wiping away a stray streak of mascara that had run down her nose. “You nervous?” he asked her, “Benny's freaking out out there,” he added with a laugh.

“I am too,” she admitted, “I just wish...I mean, I was thinking, all the lovely decorations and the tree, they all remind me...” her voice trailed off. Ray looked at her with concern. “Christmas was always great when I was a kid,” Jennifer explained, “even after my Dad left, he made sure he always saw us over the holidays. He would fly back specially.” Another tear escaped and Ray caught it in the tissue. “I don't know if I can go back,” she said, her voice cracking, “I don't know how to help my Mom deal with my brother. I miss them,” she sobbed and a few more tears fell now.

“Hey,” smiled Ray, carefully trying to save her make up with another tissue. His face became more serious then. “Y'know, when I was a kid, my Pa...well, he was a lousy father,” began Ray, “and a lousy husband too. Me and my brother and my sisters, we had to help Ma deal with all of that. We had to pull together to get through all the hard times.” Jennifer nodded as he spoke. Sometimes she felt that her family was the only one with problems, but of course she realised that wasn't true at all and from what Ray was saying, his family life had been far more difficult than hers. “Once on Christmas Day,” continued Ray, his voice much quieter now, “actually, it wasn't just on Christmas Day, it happened all the time...anyway I had to stand between my Pa and my Ma, because he used to, y'know, he used to drink and then he'd hit her and I couldn't let it happen any more. That was one of the hardest things I ever did and I got a bloody nose for my trouble, but I had to stop him. Then when he died, all of that died with him and we were so grateful that we'd stuck together and we hadn't let him destroy our family.” Ray laughed now. “Christmas is crazy in our house these days, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I have the greatest family,” he smiled at Jennifer, “but whatever you do, don't tell Frannie.”

Jennifer laughed. “I promise,” she assured him, “thank you Ray. You didn't have to tell me any of that.”

Ray shrugged. “It was a long time ago,” he said. Then he got to his feet and held out his hand. “C'mon,” he said, “your audience awaits.”

xXx

As the choir sang their opening song, Fraser spotted Clara, Tony and Mary sneaking into the church and standing at the back. He glanced across at Jennifer who had seen them too and she smiled at him. The concert went very well. Inspector Thatcher moved seats after the first two carols as she couldn't bear Constable Turnbull's singing as he joined in. Lieutenant Welsh sat with Ray and promptly dozed off and Ray had to elbow him in the ribs when his snoring became too loud. “I wasn't asleep,” insisted the Lieutenant, “I was just resting my eyes.” Ray nodded, desperately trying to keep a straight face. He looked around, suddenly realising that Diefenbaker had disappeared and he began to get concerned until he spotted the animal helping himself to a plate of mince pies. Ray rolled his eyes and decided it was best to leave the wolf to his catch.

Soon it was time for the big finale and Susan beckoned for Fraser and Jennifer to step forward. “May I introduce our soloists,” she said as they took their positions in front of the microphones. Turnbull leapt to his feet, clapping and cheering and Inspector Thatcher was about to chastise her junior officer for not retaining some decorum whilst in his RCMP uniform, but then she noticed how good Fraser looked in Ray's tuxedo and she was rendered speechless.

Fraser glanced at Jennifer and smiled nervously. Jennifer clutched her trembling hand around the wooden bead of Fraser's mother's necklace and smiled back. As soon as Susan began to play the introduction to the song, all of their nerves faded away and Fraser sang his opening line. When Jennifer began to sing, Fraser heard several gasps coming from the audience and he was sure that this was the best he'd ever heard her sing. Francesca was so distracted that she almost forgot to sing when the rest of the choir joined in. Fraser and Jennifer's voices blended perfectly and as the final note of the song reverberated around the church, even Ray and Welsh felt the hairs on the backs of their necks stand on end.

The crowd all got to their feet when they'd finished and Ray grinned as Inspector Thatcher was showing her appreciation far more enthusiastically than Turnbull now. Francesca presented Jennifer, Fraser and Susan with flowers as they took their bows and accompanied each presentation with a kiss on the cheek. Of course she lingered slightly longer at Fraser's cheek and Inspector Thatcher, being a trained observer, observed through clenched teeth. Father Behan stood up. “Well, I think we'd all like to thank Susan Murphy and our choir and particularly Benton and Jennifer, our wonderful soloists,” he said, “and I'd like to thank you all for coming as we join together to celebrate Christmas. I hope you all get home safely in this weather and fingers crossed that Santa can get through all this snow tonight.” Father Behan laughed at his own joke.

Constable Turnbull turned to Inspector Thatcher and frowned. “Of course he will,” Turnbull whispered in her ear seriously, “he has a sleigh and I'm sure that Rudolph can guide him through even the worst of conditions?”

The Inspector looked at him in disbelief. “Er, yes Turnbull,” she said and she started to seriously wonder what she'd done to upset the higher powers in Ottowa to make them send her Turnbull when she'd requested a new junior Constable.

“There's a collection plate coming round,” continued Father Behan. “Please dig deep in your pockets and give generously as this year we are collecting for those unfortunate individuals who find themselves homeless during this holiday season.” Ray sighed and pulled out his wallet. “Now,” Father Behan went on, “let's take a moment to think about what Christmas means to us all. I'm sure most of you will be spending tomorrow with your loved ones, but that's not the case for everyone...” as Father Behan continued to talk, Fraser became slightly concerned about Jennifer. He could see that the sentiments expressed by the priest were beginning to make her emotional. He glanced across at her and she caught his eye as her bottom lip trembled. Suddenly she shook her head and ran off the stage and out of the side door.

Fraser sighed and apologetically excused himself as he squeezed past the other members of the choir to follow her while Father Behan continued to speak. “Jennifer,” he called out as he got into the corridor, but she didn't answer. “Jennifer where are you?” He really hoped that she hadn't run outside into the freezing wind. He pushed open the door of the back room and breathed a small sigh of relief as he found her sitting in a chair, shaking and crying. “Jennifer,” he said, softly, crossing to her and crouching next to the chair. “What's wrong? You were wonderful this evening,” he said encouragingly, taking her hand in his. “The audience loved you. I believe Susan was very proud.”

Jennifer tried to smile at him through her tears. “Benton,” she said, “please can you take me home now. I want to go home.”

Fraser squeezed her hand. “Home?” he queried.

Jennifer nodded. “Home,” she confirmed.

xXx

As they drove through the night, Jennifer told them a little more about her family. They'd quickly returned to Fraser's apartment to get changed and now Jennifer was wearing casual clothes again as she snuggled against Diefenbaker on the back seat of Ray's car. She began to speak about her own dog, a small terrier cross that she'd had from a puppy. “My Mom didn't really want me to get her, but my Dad said I could if I promised to walk her every day. I hope she's OK. I nearly brought her with me, y'know, when I left, but she's getting old now and I didn't think it was fair on her.”

“I'm sure your mother's taking good care of her for you,” Fraser reassured her and Jennifer nodded.

Jennifer lived about three hours drive outside of Chicago and the snow was quite heavy in places, but they kept going through the darkness. “Benton,” said Jennifer quietly, “if my Mom doesn't want me to come back, if she's really mad with me, what's going to happen to me? Can I stay with you?”

Ray glanced at Fraser as his friend thought carefully about a reply. “Jennifer, I'm sure it won't come to that,” Fraser said eventually, avoiding answering her question fully. He knew that he was in no position to become her permanent guardian. He didn't see himself in that role anyway, despite the seven day Emergency Care order, he saw himself as her friend.

They stopped for coffee at a diner that had been decorated for Christmas with so many fairy lights that Ray was sure that even his sister would consider it over the top. As she sipped at her coffee, Jennifer talked about what she wanted to happen when they got to her house. “I'll stay out of sight,” she said, “just until I know if she wants me back. I want you to explain to her why I left. I want her to understand.”

“Don't you think you should be the one doing the explaining?” suggested Ray.

“Why don't we simply see what happens,” Fraser offered, “I believe you are worrying unnecessarily.” Jennifer sighed, she hoped he was right.

They pulled up outside Jennifer's house and Fraser and Ray both noticed that it was the only house in the street without any Christmas decorations. They got out of the car and started to walk towards the front door, but Jennifer stopped in her tracks. Fraser held out his hand and she looked at him pensively. “Everything will be fine,” he tried to reassure her and she nodded and took his hand and they walked to the front door together. Ray knocked loudly on the door and they waited for it to open as the snow started to fall again. It was the middle of the night now so they assumed that Jennifer's mother would be in bed. Ray pulled his collar up, trying to keep his ears warm and they heard a dog barking somewhere in the house. Eventually, the door opened and a woman wearing a dressing gown opened it just enough to peer round.

“Ray Vecchio, Chicago PD,” Ray introduced himself, showing his badge as Jennifer stood out of sight just as she said she would “and this is Constable Fraser, RCMP.”

The woman's face fell. “The Police? Oh no,” she said, covering her mouth with her hand, “Jennifer...oh god no...”

Fraser was horrified when he realised what she must have thought when two police officers turned up on her doorstep at this hour. “Oh no ma'am,” he said quickly, “your daughter's fine, I do apologise...” but he was interrupted by Jennifer.

“Mom?” she said, gingerly, emerging from the shadows.

“Jennifer!” exclaimed her mother as they both broke down and fell into each other's arms.

Ray and Fraser kept a discreet distance for a few minutes, but eventually Ray felt like his head was turning into a giant ice cube as the snow was starting to settle on his shoulders. “Hey, why don't we go inside?” he suggested.

“Oh, oh yes, of course,” said Jennifer's mother, “I'm sorry, please come in.”

She led then into the living room and they sat down. “Where's the tree?” asked Jennifer. “It's Christmas Day.”

Jennifer's mother glanced at the clock on her mantle piece. “So it is,” she sounded surprised. “I...I didn't want to put the tree up this year,” she explained, “it...it just didn't seem right, with you gone. I thought you were dead.”

Jennifer began to cry again. “I'm sorry Mom,” she sniffed, “I thought I was doing the right thing.” Jennifer's mother looked completely confused and Jennifer tried to explain why she'd run away. Her mother couldn't really understand, but at the same time she realised that Jennifer thought she was helping by leaving and she was just so glad to have her daughter home safe that she really couldn't be angry with her. They talked for almost an hour. Jennifer told her mother how Fraser and Ray had helped her and her mother couldn't thank them enough for taking care of her.

“What about Mikey?” asked Jennifer, slightly nervous about what her brother had been putting their mother through since she'd left.

“He's missed you so much,” replied her mother, “he blames himself for you running away and he hasn't done anything stupid since you left.” Jennifer couldn't help a tiny smile at that news. Maybe in some strange way, what she'd done had helped after all.

Eventually, Fraser and Ray got up to leave. “We gotta get back,” explained Ray, “Ma always cooks enough food for a thousand people and we have to help eat it.”

Jennifer and her mother laughed. “Merry Christmas,” said Jennifer, hugging Ray tightly, “and thank you for everything.”

Ray smiled. “Merry Christmas,” he said.

Then Jennifer threw her arms around Fraser. “Merry Christmas Benton,” she smiled. “I wouldn't have come back home if it wasn't for you.”

Fraser smiled. “You made your own decision,” he pointed out, “I had nothing to do with it.”

Jennifer released him and shook her head. She was still wearing Fraser's mother's necklace and she twisted it around so that the clasp was at the front. She unclipped the necklace and pulled it from her neck, then she lifted Fraser's hand and placed the necklace in his palm, curling his fingers around it. “You know exactly what you did,” she smiled and Fraser nodded in acknowledgement.

Fraser made Jennifer promise to keep up her singing and Jennifer made Fraser promise to stay in touch and then he and Ray left, leaving Jennifer and her mother to rebuild their relationship. Fraser had a feeling that it wasn't going to be too difficult. “Come on Benny,” said Ray, starting the engine of his beloved car, “we need to get back. Ma will kill me if we miss Christmas dinner.”

“Are you sure your mother doesn't mind me joining you this year?” asked Fraser.

“Nah,” grinned Ray, as he drove through the snow. “We already have a houseful and you're practically family anyway. One more isn't going to make much difference. Diefenbaker barked from the back seat. “OK, two more,” Ray conceded.

“Thank you kindly Ray,” smiled Fraser. He was looking forward to spending Christmas Day with the Vecchio's. At least, he was looking forward to most of it. He hoped Francesca would be distracted by arguing with her family, as she so often did. He didn't think he had the energy to fight off her advances today. Then a thought crossed his mind. What if he stopped trying to fight her off? It would certainly be less tiring and the subsequent developments could be...interesting. That thought kept him preoccupied for a good part of the journey.

They drove back into the city just as the dawn was beginning to break. It had stopped snowing now and the sky was clear. “Benny,” Ray began quietly, “um, before we go home, there's, er, there's just one thing I want to do.”

xXx

Fraser stood with his hat under his arm at a respectful distance and watched as Ray placed flowers on the grave. Dief whined and Fraser turned to look at him. "He's alright," Fraser said quietly, trying to reassure his wolf, glad to see that the animal cared more for his friend than he'd ever let on before. Fraser looked over towards the church and noticed Father Behan standing in the doorway. The priest raised his hand in acknowledgement, clearly not surprised at all to see them there. Fraser waved back and Father Behan went back inside. Ray stood in silence for a moment and then turned and walked back to join Fraser and Dief. “It's, um, it's pretty basic, the headstone I mean, but it was all I could afford.”

Fraser raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You arranged Charlie's headstone?”

“Yeah,” replied Ray with a sigh, “we never did trace his family. I just couldn't let him...I mean, it didn't seem right...” Ray turned away and bit down hard on his trembling lower lip. Fraser put a supportive hand on his friend's shoulder and Ray hung his head, desperate not to completely lose it in front of Fraser.

“I'll be in the car Ray,” Fraser said softly, realising that his friend needed a moment alone. “Come on Dief.” Fraser walked back across the fresh snow to the car, opened the door and held the seat forward for Dief to jump into the back, but Dief refused to get in the car. “In!” Fraser commanded, but the animal ignored him. Fraser frowned. “Dief, what are you...” but then he saw why his wolf was unhappy. “Oh...hello Dad,” he said, rolling his eyes.

"Merry Christmas son," said the smiling ghost of Bob Fraser who was sitting in the back seat of Ray's car. "I'm the ghost of Christmas past."

Fraser pointed to the driver's seat and Dief gratefully jumped in, then Fraser sat himself in the passenger seat. "Dad, if you don't mind me saying," he began, trying to keep his temper in check, "I think it's staggeringly insensitive of you to be making jokes at this juncture, considering the circumstances in which we currently find ourselves."

“Sorry son,” replied the ghost, “but when you've been dead for a while, these places don't hold quite the same meaning as they used to.” Benton wasn't quite sure he understood. “He's alright you know,” added Bob.

“I know Dad,” smiled Benton, “I just thought I'd give him some privacy.”

“Not Vecchio,” replied Bob, shaking his head, “the boy, Charlie.”

Benton's eyes widened in surprise. “You...you've seen him? I mean, in the...in the afterlife?”

Bob nodded. “He's happy, he's with his mother now. She's been here a while I think.”

Benton needed a moment to absorb this new information. “So, Charlie's mother was already dead,” he said, thinking aloud, “that's why the boy ended up homeless.”

Bob shrugged. “Don't know all the details Benton,” he said, “we don't have a central database here. Well, in a way we do, but you wouldn't believe the number of forms you have to fill in if you want to research anything.”

“Forms?” replied Benton, incredulously. “You have to fill in forms?”

“Bureaucrats are all the same son,” sighed Bob, “dead or alive.”

Benton shook his head in disbelief. Then his face softened and he gave his father half a smile. “Thank you for telling me,” he said, “I'm not quite sure how I'm going to tell Ray, but I'll find a way. It may give him some peace.” Bob nodded in acknowledgement, but before he had a chance to disappear, Benton added, “Dad, have you...have you seen Mum yet?”

Bob bowed his head sadly. “Not yet son,” he said, quietly, “but I'll keep looking. Maybe I should fill in some forms?”

Benton gave a tiny laugh at the thought of that bizarre concept. “Merry Christmas Dad,” he said quietly and he closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears as he thought about yet another Christmas without his mother. When he opened his eyes, his Dad had gone and Ray had walked back to the car.

“Get outta my seat!” Ray exclaimed as he spotted Dief and the wolf duly complied. Ray got into the car and started the engine.

Fraser watched him, trying to gauge his friend's thoughts. “You alright?” he asked, gently.

Ray looked across at Fraser and smiled. He couldn't answer, he just nodded and they drove away in silence.

xXx

“Ray, if it's not too much of an inconvenience, I'd like to drop into the Consulate on the way to your house,” Fraser asked a short while later as they drove through the city streets.

“Sure Benny,” replied Ray, turning off the main road. Fraser was pleased to see that Ray seemed a little brighter now. They got to the Canadian Consulate building and Ray pulled up outside. “I'll wait in the car,” he said as Fraser took his hat from the dashboard and opened the door.

“Thank you kindly Ray,” smiled Fraser, “I won't be long.” He glanced at Diefenbaker who was laying across the back seat, clearly not planning on moving. Fraser rolled his eyes and headed into the building.

Inspector Meg Thatcher was sitting in her office eating her third mince pie of the day. As soon as she heard the front door open, she quickly brushed all the crumbs from her desk onto the floor and washed the last mouthful down with a swig from her wineglass. She knew it was still morning, but it was Christmas Day so one glass of wine was perfectly acceptable, she thought, hiding the glass in her desk drawer. She heard someone walking up the stairs and immediately recognised Fraser's footsteps. He knocked on her door and she quickly grabbed a file and opened it on the desk in front of her to appear as though she'd been working. “Come in!” she called, suddenly remembering the Santa hat she was wearing. She barely managed to pull it off her head and throw it behind the filing cabinet before the door opened.

Fraser nervously stuck his head around the door. “I'm sorry, I know you're busy Sir,” he said gingerly.

“That's alright Fraser,” she smiled, “I thought I'd take advantage of the peace and quiet today to get all this work done, but I'm sure I can spare you a few minutes.” Fraser stepped into her office and she noticed he had one hand behind his back.

“What is it?” snapped Meg, immediately chastising herself for being so short with him.

“Ah, I...er, I have a Christmas gift for you,” explained Fraser, slowly bringing his hand forward and showing her the small box wrapped in shiny paper and ribbon. “I, um, I hope you don't think I'm being over familiar, Sir.”

Meg was stunned. She would give anything to be over familiar with Fraser, but being her junior officer she'd already decided that it was totally out of the question. “Oh,” she said, “I'm afraid I haven't bought you anything.” She felt guilty now as Fraser thrust the gift into her hand.

“I wasn't expecting anything in return,” he explained, “it's just that I saw this and it reminded me of...” his voice trailed off as Meg tore the wrapping off and opened the box.

She gasped. “Fraser, it's...it's beautiful,” she exclaimed, looking at the brooch glistening up at her.

Fraser blushed and cleared his throat. “I found those beads on a market stall and they are the same colours as the tree decoration that you are particularly fond of,” he explained.

“Oh yes,” smiled Meg, “the one that you said accentuated my, er...”

“Your eyes,” Fraser finished in a low voice.

“Yes,” agreed Meg, quietly.

“I mounted them in such a way that the brooch, when worn on your lapel, would have a similar effect,” Fraser continued. “That is to say that, particularly when worn outside in the Chicago winter sunlight, the colours will emphasise the sparkle in your, um, your...”

“My eyes,” finished Meg.

“Indeed,” Fraser nodded. He took the brooch out of it's box and delicately pinned it to Meg's jacket.

Meg looked down at the brooch and then up at Fraser who was now standing so close to him that she could feel his breath on her face. “You made this for me?” she clarified.

“Yes,” confirmed Fraser, his voice barely more than a whisper. They stood staring at each other for what seemed like forever, until Meg just couldn't take it any more.

“I thought you were spending Christmas with Detective Vecchio and his family?” she said returning to her desk and trying to catch her breath.

Fraser closed his eyes and let out the breath he'd been holding. “Yes Sir,” he replied, his voice back to it's usual even tone. “Ray is waiting outside for me now.”

“Well, you don't want to keep him waiting for too long,” replied Meg, “dismissed.” As soon as she said it she regretted it, but her head was in such a spin and professionalism was the only way she knew to deal with it.

“Yes Sir,” replied a slightly dejected Fraser as he turned and headed for the door. “Oh there was just one more thing,” he added, spinning back round on his heels to face her. Meg looked puzzled. “If you'd like to follow me for a moment,” he added and Meg came out from behind her desk and followed him out into the hallway, as he placed his hat on the desk by the stairs on his way past. Fraser stopped in the doorway to his office and turned to face her again. Meg was slightly surprised to see that the door had been left open as Fraser was usually meticulous about keeping it closed. She stood in front of him and he slowly looked up and then Meg, curious now, followed his eyeline. She couldn't quite believe what she saw.

“A friend recently reminded me of this particular Christmas tradition,” Fraser explained, coating his lower lip with his tongue as their eyes became transfixed by the sprig of mistletoe he had pinned to the door frame. Slowly, they both lowered their eyes until they were once again staring at each other, their faces inches apart. Now it was Meg's turn to lick her lips. Her head was screaming at her to walk away, but her heart simply wasn't going to allow her to. This is a Christmas tradition, she reminded herself.

Fraser's mind too was in total conflict and he really had no idea how he'd got himself into this, but there was no going back now. He tilted is head slightly, captured the side of Meg's face in his hand and moved in to kiss her tenderly on the lips. It was the briefest of kisses, but Meg would remember it forever. His lips felt softer than she'd imagined they would and she'd imagined it far too often, she acknowledged to herself. As Fraser released her and stepped back, his face flushed, she smiled, providing him with a huge sense of relief as in the back of his mind had always been the thought that she wouldn't react favourably.

Fraser cleared his throat and broke eye contact with her. “Merry Christmas...Sir,” he mumbled, pushing past her to get out into the hallway. He picked up his hat and ran down the stairs leaving a stunned Meg still standing in the doorway.

“Merry Christmas Ben,” she said quietly and she heard the front door close behind him.

xXx

Christmas dinner at the Vecchio house was even crazier than Fraser could ever have imagined. He'd been to dinner with Ray's immediate family on several occasions before and Mrs Vecchio always laid on a good spread, but today the house was filled with sixteen extra members of the extended Vecchio family, including seven children, four of whom were under five years old. Fraser sat on the sofa with Ray waiting for dinner to be ready, watching as the children ran around and argued over toys and he tried to ignore the heated discussion that was going on in the corner of the room between Francesca and three of her cousins. Ray looked at his friend and grinned. “Merry Christmas Benny,” he laughed and Fraser just nodded manically, his wide eyes displaying mild panic. Fraser's acute hearing was completely overwhelmed with the noise and his head was starting to hurt, but as soon as Ray's mother brought out the enormous turkey, the prospect of satisfying his empty stomach transcended all other distractions. “Benton,” smiled Mrs Vecchio, holding out the carving knife, “would you like to carve?”

“I'd be honoured,” replied Fraser as he got to his feet and followed her to the dining room, grateful for an excuse to leave the sensory overload of the living room. Ray followed and watched in amazement as his friend carved the huge turkey in record time. Mrs Vecchio was shocked to find the task completed before she'd even returned again from the kitchen with a ham that was bigger than the turkey. “Would you like me to carve that also?” enquired Fraser.

“Oh, yes,” nodded Mrs Vecchio, “Raymondo, come with me, you can help me carry everything else out.” Fraser and Ray couldn't quite believe the amount of food that Ray's mother had prepared, but as the family sat down to eat Fraser was happy to see that the sheer volume of food each of them consumed contributed significantly to lowering the noise level by several decibels.

As they finished the final course, Francesca leapt off her chair. “Time for Christmas crackers!” she exclaimed, darting out of the room and returning seconds later with an armful of crackers. She handed them around to everyone, leaving Fraser until last. “Frase, would you like to pull my cracker?” she asked, ignoring Ray scowling at her.

Fraser cleared his throat and Ray jumped in to save his friend from embarrassment. “Sit down Frannie,” he snapped at her and she sneered at him and returned to her seat.

“Actually Francesca, I haven't partaken in that particular Christmas tradition for several years,” explained Fraser. “Back home, we stopped having crackers after poor Billy McGilly had a rather nasty accident with one.”

“An accident with a cracker?” queried Ray.

“Yes Ray,” replied Fraser, “obviously, we used to make our own as the commercially available ones were hard to come by. Now, no one really knows the exact circumstances, but it appears that Mrs Kirkwood was making crackers and Christmas puddings simultaneously and the theory is that she became confused with quantities. Let's just say that the puddings that year were noticeably short on allspice.”

“At least she didn't put allspice in the crackers and explosives in the puddings,” noted Ray.

“Indeed,” agreed Fraser.

“So what happened to Billy McGilly?” asked Francesca.

“Well,” replied Fraser, hesitating as he tried to decide the best way to explain in mixed company, “he recovered fully...almost, um, suffice to say that we were all thankful that he and Mrs McGilly had previously decided their family was already complete with their three children.”

Ray took a few moments to realise what Fraser was trying to say, but then the realisation dawned on him and he swallowed hard as his eyes began to water. Fraser looked at him apologetically. “Pull the cracker Benny,” said Ray, trying to clear his mind.

“Right you are,” replied Fraser and within minutes, everyone was wearing silly paper hats and reading out the terrible jokes from the crackers.

“What do you call a deer with no eyes?” read Ray's cousin Mario.

“I've no idea?” replied a puzzled Fraser.

“Oh you've heard this one before,” grinned Mario. Fraser frowned. “You're just supposed to say 'No idea' though, otherwise it doesn't really work.”

Fraser looked at Ray, completely confused. “Is that not what I said?” he muttered quietly, not wishing to offend Ray's cousin.

Ray laughed. “It's a joke. 'What do you call a deer with no eyes?' Answer 'No idea'...no eyed deer, geddit?”

Fraser looked even more confused. “No,” he replied, flatly. “Although I have to say that a fawn born with no eyes or even limited sight would struggle to survive for more than a few days. In fact, in the animal kingdom, many mothers will eat their offspring if they discover them to be imperfect in any way.” Ray's face was one of bewilderment. “I'm sorry Ray,” continued Fraser, “I know it's difficult for us as human beings to understand, but in the wild, survival of the fittest is paramount.”

“Great,” replied Ray, bemused at the way the topic of conversation could always shift off on a peculiar tangent when Fraser was around. “So,” he looked at Francesca, “that's turkey and crackers done, what's next?”

Francesca was about to suggest party games as she'd bought Twister especially for the occasion, but her mouth fell open as to her left, her two cousins Mona and Sabrina and her Aunt Carmella, who was old enough to know better, simultaneously produced sprigs of mistletoe from under the table and smiled sweetly at Fraser.

“Oh dear,” said Fraser, looking desperately to Ray for help.

“That's it,” declared Ray, throwing his napkin on the table and getting up from the chair, “sorry ladies, but the show's over for today, me and my best friend here have stuff to do.”

Fraser leapt from his chair in relief and was half way out of the door with Ray when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and turned back with a look of horror on his face. “I'm so terribly sorry Mrs Vecchio,” he said meekly, leaning forward to speak directly into her ear, “please may I be excused from the table?”

Mrs Vecchio smiled a broad smile, took his face in her hands and planted huge wet kisses on each of his cheeks. “Of course Benton,” she exclaimed, delighted as always by his politeness, “you and Raymondo run along now, don't go getting into any mischief!”

Fraser blushed and hurriedly left the room as Francesca looked dejectedly into her empty wine glass. Even her mother got to kiss him, she thought with a sigh.

Upstairs in Ray's room, Ray was laughing uncontrollably. “Oh Benny,” he said, wiping tears from his cheeks, “you should have seen your face! Aunt Carmella is seventy one years old! Stop making me laugh, my belly's so full it hurts.”

“Ray, I just don't understand it?” replied Fraser, now totally confused, “I'm not wearing my uniform today. It's the uniform that attracts all of the, um, the attention, isn't it?”

Ray took some deep breaths and tried to control himself. “Nah Benny, it's not just the uniform,” he smiled.

“Oh,” said Fraser, still not entirely sure he understood. “Ray, shall we take a walk?” he asked, desperate to change the subject. “Your mother's cooking was delicious as always, but I fear I may have overindulged somewhat.” He patted his stomach with both hands as he spoke and glanced down at Diefenbaker who had decided to join them. “Now I know how you feel most of the time,” he said, glaring at his wolf. Dief barked a reply. “Oh come on Dief,” replied Fraser disapprovingly, “I saw Aunt Carmella palm you enough food for you to survive on for an entire winter in the Territories.” Dief whined again. “I will not apologise to you,” replied Fraser, folding his arms and turning away from Dief.

“Hey you two, no arguing today,” scolded Ray, “it's Christmas.”

Fraser and Dief both looked slightly ashamed. “Ray,” began Fraser, hoping now that he would be able to convincingly lie to his friend. He hated lying, but in this instance Fraser couldn't see any other way of passing on the information to Ray about Charlie that his father had told him, without perpetuating the idea that he was completely unhinged. “When I was at the Consulate earlier, I took the liberty of accessing the RCMP computer system,” he said, “I was searching for any information regarding to teenage boys reported missing more than four years ago.” Ray immediately realised that Fraser was talking about Charlie. “I believe I found him,” Fraser continued and Ray's eyes widened. “The information was sketchy, but it appears that Charlie was an orphan. His mother had passed away some years previously and Charlie, for reasons unknown at this juncture, found himself homeless.”

“That's so sad,” sighed Ray, quietly.

“I agree,” nodded Fraser, “of course we don't know the circumstances surrounding that.” Ray nodded. Fraser hesitated now, wondering exactly how he was going to say what he wanted to say next. “You know Ray, your Catholic beliefs may lead you to believe that Charlie and his mother are now reunited for eternity.” Fraser had never felt drawn to any one particular organised religion, but he did have a spiritual side. He had found great comfort in talking to Father Behan last year when he'd been going through a particularly devastating time in his life, of course the Inuit had opened his eyes to many things and now that he was sure, well almost sure, that there was some sort of afterlife, he found comfort in that too.

Ray was lost in his thoughts for a while. Eventually he smiled and said, “Y'know Benny, a walk would be good.” He crossed to his wardrobe and brought out a huge sack. “Since Aunt Carmella's been sleeping here in my room this week, I thought it was time I sorted out some of my old clothes,” said Ray, tipping the contents of the sack onto his bed. “Frannie was kind enough to give some of her clothes to Jenny the other day, so I thought maybe...well, I thought perhaps I should give these to...um...”

“To members of the homeless community?” Fraser finished his sentence for him, with raised eyebrows.

Ray smiled. “Yeah Benny,” he replied, “I, er, I cut out all the labels so there's no distinguishing marks or anything like that now. I, um, I thought maybe that was for the best.”

“That's an excellent idea,” agreed Fraser. He paused and looked Ray in the eye. He could see how hard this was going to be for him, considering the memories of Charlie and the circumstances surrounding the boy's death were so raw, but he could also see that Ray really wanted to do this. He wanted to do something to show that he bore no ill will against homeless people, not any more.

“Great, let's go,” said Ray, stuffing all the clothes back into the bag.

“Are you sure you want to do this today?” Fraser asked.

“Yeah,” replied Ray, “it's Christmas Day, I figure some of those folks don't have much else to look forward to.” Fraser nodded and headed towards the door, but Ray called him back. “Benny, before we go, I've got something for you.”

“For me?” Fraser asked.

“Yeah, y'know a Christmas present,” explained Ray.

“Ah, I see,” replied Fraser with a smile, “well I also have a gift for you.”

Ray smiled too now and reached into a drawer to find the gift he'd wrapped while Fraser darted out of the room, returning moments later with his hat and pulling Ray's present out of it. The two friends sat on the edge of the bed and Ray let Fraser unwrap his Christmas present first. Fraser was very pleased, if a little stunned to find a leather wallet with his initials on. He looked at Ray in surprise. “So you don't have to carry all your money round in your hat,” Ray explained, a little puzzled as to why Fraser looked so shocked. “What?” he asked quietly, “you don't like it?”

“Oh no, on the contrary Ray,” replied Fraser with a smile, “it will come in very handy, particularly when I don't have my hat with me, which is, well...there are occasions when I don't have my hat with me...um, for example...um...” Fraser suddenly realised that he was in danger of offending Ray and he didn't want to do that at all, he really did like the wallet. “It's lovely Ray,” he said. Ray wasn't actually paying that much attention to what Fraser was saying as he was still concerned that his friend had found something so disconcerting about his present. Fraser's face softened when he realised that Ray needed an explanation. “I think you'd better open yours now,” he said.

Ray nodded and tore off the wrapping. Suddenly he realised why Fraser had been so surprised. “A wallet,” he grinned, “thanks Benny.”

“I noticed the other day that your current wallet was in rather a sorry state,” explained Fraser, “so I made this for you. It's caribou hide. I branded it with your initials.”

Ray laughed. “I bought yours in the store,” he grinned and Fraser laughed too. Ray looked at the two wallets. “Y'know Fraser, sometimes I think you and me aren't so different after all,” he said.

“There's an old Inuit saying Ray,” Fraser replied, “roughly translated from the Inuktitut, it says that a man and his brother are more closely united by their differences than by their parentage.” He stopped and frowned for a moment. “I'm sorry Ray,” he said, “it loses some of it poetry when translated into English.”

Ray laughed. “I like that Benny,” he said, getting to his feet, “I was never really one for poetry anyway.” He crossed to the window. “Look, it's snowing again,” he said turning back towards Fraser and picking up the sack of clothes. “Shall we get out there? I thought we'd start down by the old bridge.”

Fraser smiled and stood up, placing his hat squarely on his head and running his finger and thumb around the edge to make sure it was sitting perfectly. “That sounds like an excellent idea,” he said.

THE END


End file.
